


Never Walk Home Alone

by RabelleRabbit



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Horrortale (Undertale), Dark Fantasy, F/F, F/M, Forced Soul Bonding, Isolation, Kidnapping, Mental Breakdown, Obsession, Prejudice Against Monsters (Undertale), Reader Is Not Chara (Undertale), Reader Is Not Frisk (Undertale), Reader is depressed and anxious, Slow Burn, Stalking, Stockholm Syndrome, Thriller, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings, Unrequited Love, Yandere
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2019-07-12 23:31:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 40,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16005590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RabelleRabbit/pseuds/RabelleRabbit
Summary: He made himself seem absolutely harmless.That cracked hole in his skull, that red eye light in his eye socket, and the way he always stared... You really should have seen it coming....It's times like this that you wished you weren't so nice as he closes the door on you, trapping you in this room.His room.





	1. A Stalking Admirer

**Author's Note:**

> obsession
> 
> The state of being obsessed with someone or something.
> 
> or
> 
> An idea or thought that continually preoccupies or intrudes on a person's mind.
> 
> What is it about you that makes this monster obsess about you?

“Sssh. He’s here again…” 

 

You were in the middle of sipping your pineapple soda when your coworkers crowd away from the window, whispering heavily at this new customer that had entered the grocery store you worked at. It was break time and you were in dire need of sugar to get through the last few hours of your shift. Hence, a pineapple soda was in your hands, but you were barely able to get a sip in when your coworker dragged you over to point out the skeleton man that had came in. 

 

He was tall and boney, and you could see why your coworkers were afraid. You would be to, if it hadn’t been the fact that this is a monster welcomed store owned by a human owner, so you’ve seen your fair share of monsters. 

 

It’s also a good point to add that you’ve spoken to that skeleton man a few times. Not enough to get his name, but enough to know that he’s harmless.

 

“He’s been here nearly a hundred times, why are you still so afraid of him?” You say as you tried to retake that needed sip, but she shook your shoulder and pointed towards his skull. You push her hand down, not wanting the skeleton customer to notice her gawking, until you saw him turn his head towards you two. 

 

You know why your coworker was mainly afraid of this regular customer.

 

There was a cracked hole in the left corner of his skull. It looked painful, but he wasn’t limping around in pain. 

 

The eyelight in his dark sockets were scanning the store until it rested on the both of you. For a second, both of your gazes met and you couldn’t look away until your coworker shook your shoulder for the fifth time. With an exhausted sigh, you look away and give her this annoyed glare. When you looked back, the skeleton was nowhere to be seen. 

 

That was sort of scary, but you didn’t mind. He does this a lot, and if you knew him from your standpoint, then he’s probably here to pick up some quick groceries.

 

Speaking of which… 

 

“Break’s over,” you checked your watch, confirming it. Dang. You literally spent your entire break trying to get this pineapple soda. Locking eyes with the manager, you take slow sips, savoring the good flavor. 

 

“(Y/N), come get your cash tray and switch out with Daniel.”

 

“Soda first.”

 

The manager rolled his eyes, but gave in to give you a minute to finish your drink. Remember people, this is not the attitude you should take with your higher ups at work UNTIL you’ve gained a very good work friendly relationship with them. 

 

You’re down to the last of your soda when you hear a gasp come from one of your coworkers. Turning around, you saw that it was Daniel with his customer being the skeleton. The skeleton did not move, staring intensely at Daniel. On the conveyor belt sat a box of pasta and the bottle of the parmesan and romano cheese powder. 

 

Daniel was terrified, and so were your other coworkers. However, you just downed nearly an entire can of soda, so you were far from fearful. You felt bold and daring, brave even. 

 

Grabbing your cash tray, you saunter over to the lane and grabbed Daniel’s shoulder.

 

“Here, it’s time for your break. Get me another soda before you come back. Pineapple, okay, thanks, bye,” you say as you watch Daniel sign out immediately on the register, grabbed his tray and ran without looking back. You rolled your eyes as you tap in your code before putting in your tray. “Sorry about that. I’ll have you ringed up in no time.”

 

The skeleton did not say a word as you grabbed the pasta and the grated cheese. You scanned them and put them into a bag, telling him the amount he owed. It took nearly forever until he finally reached into his hoodie pocket and pulled out his wallet, giving you a crisp twenty dollar bill. 

 

You give him a smile and take the money, cashing it in and with skill, you were already slipping out his change, “thank you for shopping with us. Have a safe trip home tonight.” 

 

You held out his change, but he made no move to grab the change or the bag. You look up to him and noticed that his single red eye light is on you. He’s been doing that alot and it hasn’t even been ten minutes since he had entered the store.

 

The customer that’s next in line looked impatient, you can tell by the way the woman’s finger continued to tap the handle of her cart. You give her a smile and turn back to your current skelly customer, “I’m going to put your change and receipt in the bag. Have a good night.” 

 

The bag was held out towards him, and finally did he reach out to take it. His boney hand touched yours, and the second it did, a small zap almost made you gasp and you instantly wanted to yank your hand away. It nearly got worse when his fingers curled under your hand. It stayed that way until he took the handle of the bag and slowly made his way out of the store. 

 

The entire world around you felt as though it had stopped in time, with you just looking at him as he slowly made his way out of the store. The skeleton man stopped, slowly turning his head back, and your eyes widened in the realization that he was looking at  _ you _ .

 

The double doors slid closed, and he was gone. 

 

You didn’t realize you were holding your breath when your irritated customer broke you out of your trance.

 

“That thing must be slow in the head if it took that long to buy pasta and cheese. I swear our country is going down hill if the government is letting those...those  _ things  _ run around our cities! The lot of them,” the old woman sneers as you blink and turn your attention onto her. 

 

“Ma’am, this is a monster friendly store and we do not tolerate racism of any kind.” You even point towards a sign that’s taped on the lane. She gives you this sputtered expression, as if she didn’t expect you to say such a thing.

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“If you want to talk to the manager, I will be happy to direct you to him. He will be more than happy to explain our zero tolerance for racism and abuse to the staff.” You would not back down, and this woman was growing red in the face, probably already planning to wreak havoc to your boss and staff.

 

“Why I never-!”

 

“Lady, just buy your organic greens already!” A man calls out from the growing line and she gives this nasty glare towards you as she begins to pile up all her groceries onto the conveyor belt.

 

Another tip in living in this cruel society: be brave. If you can’t, then fake it, just like what you’re doing. If it hadn’t been for the rules of this place, then you would have kept your mouth shut. It was a good thing that no one can see your trembling knees. 

 

The woman does not notice and is instead backing down this time. 

 

_ “I can’t believe this.” “This is disgusting.” “I’m never coming here again.” _

 

The racist old woman kept muttering words such as those. You can’t do anything about it, since she hasn’t exactly made anymore outright racial comments about the previous skeleton customer. Once her groceries were bagged and placed in her cart, she paid and hurried off. You’re not bothered and the next customer comes up, and you focus on the task at hand.

 

Eventually, you’re off from work and you’re already swapping out your work shoes for a pair of comfy sneakers you keep in your locker. Backpack on and another soda from Daniel, you’re already leaving once your replacement comes in. You’re waving to your coworkers, and out of humor some of the customers wave back as well, and you’re off to walk back home to your apartment.

 

You used to have a bike, but it was stolen a while back. Probably from an anti-monster protestor. It really did peeved you off, but there was nothing the police could do until the thief was found. Until then, you walk until you can afford a bike again. Or a car. But then you’d worry that they’d steal that too. 

 

Walking it is. 

 

In your pocket, there is a taser. You never used it before, and you hope it will stay that way, but sometimes there are anti monster advocates that wait for people like you to try and ‘beat some sense’ into monster acceptors. It’s happened before at this monster welcomed store, and one of your front end managers are on medical leave until further notice. Since then, the police make sure to keep a watchful eye around these parts. The attacks have gone down, but there was always that feeling that it would happen again. 

 

Ever since word of your manager being attacked, many monsters felt compelled enough to start coming into the store and check it out, and now many of them are loyal customers. They flock the place in the day time!

 

It’s nighttime that they stay indoors. To stay safe.

 

It’s only a ten minute walk to the nearest bus stop, followed by a half an hour ride to your very small studio apartment. Rent was very cheap, and you didn’t need a big place. It was fine. You’re fine. 

 

The walk is quiet, save for your footsteps against the sidewalk. It’s a bit cold in the night air and you had wished you brought a jacket. It’s nearly autumn soon, so it was about time to bring out the winter coats and clothes. 

 

_ Just think happy thoughts.  _

 

Autumn and winter. Your favorite seasons. Warmer seasons like spring and summer were fine, but you hated the intense heat and bugs. The colder seasons were filled with big appetites, hot cocoa, and lots and lots of holidays. 

 

Holidays mean lots of customers, but it also means constant days of getting double pay if the manager schedules you that day. 

 

You sip the soda you nearly forgot about, feeling a sense of happiness at experiencing a delicious taste. Upon discovering the beauty of pineapple soda, you insist on drinking it for every meal outside your home. It’s an addiction, really.

 

Back to reality, you were turning the corner when you saw a figure standing under the streetlight far from the bus stop. Your nerves are slowly becoming on edge as you stop where you stand, staring at the figure and trying to figure out who it could be. A stranger, obviously, but you feel as though you have seen that silhouette before. 

 

Tall and wide… 

 

You don’t want to admit you’re afraid, but you do feel nervous. Maybe this stranger is waiting for someone to pick them up, or maybe they’re waiting for an Uber? You take a moment to breathe, to let out your nerves. It’s fine, it’s fine. You pull out your phone and check the time. Just a few minutes until the night bus arrives. Looking up from your phone screen, your eyes nearly bulge out of their socket, spotting the figure to be at a streetlight closer to you. 

 

Uh.

 

Alright, today may be the day you’ll use the taser. 

 

You keep your eyes on the figure. If this person comes closer, you’ll definitely have every right to think they’re coming after you, and you can justify using the taser as a means for self defense. Right? 

 

So you played the waiting game. All you had to do is hold out for at least five or six minutes for the bus. Just hold out. It’ll be fine. 

 

As if straight out of a horror film, the streetlight the figure was standing under flickered. It caught your attention and you look up to that streetlight in disbelief, before realizing that the figure had practically teleported to a streetlight closer to you. 

 

No…

 

“No way…” You whisper to yourself as your hand slips into your pocket, gripping the self defense weapon. Nope… Nope nope nope. This is not okay. Not okay at all. 

 

You keep your eyes on this figure, trying so hard not to blink. If you blink, he comes closer. There's at least two streetlights between you and the stranger. The bus should be here soon. You hoped. You would really like to check your phone, but who knows if the stranger will come right at you when you pull it out?

 

You're not curious enough to find out what this guy wants.

 

Would calling out to this person be a smart idea? Would it be a smart idea to pull out your phone if he gets to close and snap a picture for authorities? 

 

(No that wouldn't work. Your phone's camera is horrendous at night.)

 

What would be a brilliant idea is that you shouldn't walk home alone anymore.

 

The faint sound of the bus, a sound you never thought you'd be so happy to hear, is heard from behind you. It sounds very faint, but you knew it's coming. It's coming very soon and you'll be safe. 

 

You never let go of that taser in your pocket, and you never stopped staring at the shadowed figure, despite your eyes screaming to blink.

 

You stared. And stared. 

 

The bus screeches to a halt right beside you and the doors open. In that split second, you jump in and scramble up the steps, slipping out your bus pass and slide it into the card reader. 

 

You blink and feel relieved, only to hear the bus driver audibly gasp. You pull out your pass, looking at the man. His eyes are past you, and you really don't want to turn around and see what he sees.

 

_ Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. _

 

The bus driver swallowed dryly, nearly choking out his words as he forced a smile on his face. “Er...ah… you getting on, sir?”

 

_ Don’t look. _

 

Whoever was standing behind you, they must have told the bus driver no with a shaking motion of their head. The bus driver nods slowly, and very cautiously he reaches out to pull the lever, and you feel the doors close behind you. He’s sighing in relief before looking to you and nods for you to sit down. Eventually, your legs finally move and you walk to the nearest seat in the empty bus. 

 

The bus driver shifts in his seat to get comfortable for the last loop around his designated route, and slowly the bus began moving again. You pull out your phone to check your messages, to see if you could text anyone for comfort until you reach your home, and it was out of the corner in your eye that you notice something staring at you from outside the bus windows.

 

The bus was already driving off, and you almost missed it, but you could have sworn you saw a red light staring at you. A red light you’ve seen before, and honestly, you felt...frightened?

 

It certainly is fear that you’re experiencing, however…

 

Under the streetlight, you swore you saw the skeleton from the store. Standing there, and staring. At you. His darkened silhouette grows dimmer and dimmer the farther the bus took you. Once it took a turn to the next street, it felt as though the nightmare has ended.

 

You take a breath, prepared to send a text to one of your friends who were most likely up at the moment, but those plans were put to a stop when the bus driver decided to talk to you. He must have been concerned with that silent skeleton creeping up behind you. It probably made matters worse since you were also afraid. 

 

“Was that monster following you?”

 

This was something to think about. You don’t know what the skeleton man wanted from you. Maybe he was shy and wanted to ask for directions? No… you don’t want to make dumb excuses, but you also don’t want a possibly innocent monster to get in trouble with the authorities for stalking. He could be innocent, or not so innocent. No one will ever know, because the skeleton was silent the entire time. 

 

Eventually, you come to a conclusion and smile to yourself. It’s fine. Everything’s fine. This isn’t something you couldn’t handle. “It’s fine. He’s a regular from the store.”

 

“Ah, so that’s what it was? He was just making sure you get to the bus stop safely?” The bus driver asked with a soft chuckle. He was still rather nervous, and most likely said it to convince himself. 

 

“Y...yeah.” 

 

Neither you or the bus driver decided to continue the conversation. There was no point to keep talking. Home would be within reach in the next thirty minutes. It was hard to relax, but eventually you feel courageous enough to get off the bus at your stop and hurry home. 

 

There’s a lot going through your mind about that skeleton man. He seemed very nice the very few times you got to talk to him. He was very funny with his puns, but also very quiet. Perhaps he’s reserved. 

 

You already know that in order to end this little stalking issue, you’re going to have to confront him. 

 

Bounding up the stairs, you reach into your pocket and pull out your key, going straight to your apartment door.   _ Home sweet home _ , you think to yourself as you unlock the door and step in. The door closes behind you, ignorant of the silhouette of the skeleton man standing there.

 

It is quiet. Oddly quiet. There is no noise coming from your neighbors next door, nor is the pipe in the bathroom making that weird sound. It’s quiet, and it’s nearly unsettling. It’s going to be hard to sleep tonight, probably.

 

You can only be thankful that tomorrow is a day off. 

 

The lights go off, and in your dark dreams, you see a red eye light staring back at you. 


	2. The First Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At first glance, she was just another human to him. Her eyes widened when she caught a glance of the cracked hole in his head. Every human's done that when they saw him. 
> 
> It's when she smiled and helped him that made him a tad more curious about her.
> 
> That small curiosity blooms to obsession, with Sans wanting to understand what makes this human tick. Why does she run through his mind as though nothing else mattered? It made him angry that she got along so well with her other coworkers. It made him jealous that her friends made her smile. He wanted to snarl at the other monsters who came up to her for a small chat. 
> 
> She is only a human.
> 
> She's his human.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: It's my fault for not making it clear, and maybe this should have been the first chapter, but this chapter is actually Sans meeting you properly for the first time. The events take place a while before the first chapter. If you want me to make this the actual first chapter, I will. I did not plan this out correctly. Again, that's my bad.

This isn’t the first time he’s seen that human in the store.

 

Right, the store that had remodeled two years after monsters roamed the surface once again, following a new policy to welcome anyone of race, color, or species. There was a rumor that the hipster children of the owner pressured him into being open-minded. The details were very specific and a pain to remember, so he didn’t care. 

 

There were barely stores that welcomed monsters in the first place in a big city like this. They were loud and big and full of angry people who liked to shout angry words at monsters like him. 

 

Finding a store like this? It was pretty much a stroke of luck. 

 

Sans wasn’t very lucky in the first place. Better yet, he would have to say that the entire monster population was not lucky. Not in the slightest. 

 

Two years is too long for the government to still be deciding if monsters such as himself were to be granted citizenship. Full citizenship with basic rights, like entering a store or trying to eat at restaurants without being shooed away for simply being  _ who  _ they are. 

 

Sans would ignore the stares from other humans as he sauntered down the aisle, looking for that brand of pasta noodles Papyrus asked him to pick out. 

  
Papy… 

 

His brother happened to like the city, though he never left the house much. Papyrus liked the hustle and the bustle of city life. At night, the city would come alive with all those lights and it felt like Gyftmas every time. With such a beautiful sight from their window, Sans and Papyrus would try to occupy their night with city lights while ignoring people yelling slurs from outside their door.

 

Their friend, Toriel, had told them that the country was much kinder. 

 

It was  _ safer _ . 

 

Sans approached the pasta section. Egg noodles. Angel hair. Penne. Rotini. Lasagna noodles. They had a lot of choices here. Sans picked up a box of rotini, shaking it and heard the pasta rustle around inside. This is the noodle Papyrus wanted, but not the brand. 

 

He searched and scanned, and found nothing. Apparently, the pasta brand was not on the shelves despite the tag being right there. Sans glanced over, seeing this human unpacking packages from a big cardboard box. Ah.

 

Right. As he said, he's seen this human before. He never talked with her or went into her lane before. She was regularly here at the store either in the mornings or in the late evenings.  Both as a cashier or stocking shelves. But she was a face in the crowd, and he would just forget about her. Just like now.

 

It would be better to just let the human restock the shelves than to bother her. Sans turned around, already prepared to go around the deli to just stare at all the stuff that would eventually go to waste...at least he was until that human worker had called out to him.

 

“Sir? Did you need something?”

 

He wasn’t really prepared to be called out to. Sans would take in a breath and turn around, seeing the typical reaction from all the humans he would run into. First their eyes would widen from the sight of his cracked head, then their faces would pale, and then they’d focus their eyes on the ground or the ceiling for the rest of the conversation. 

 

The human’s eyes did widen, but she did not gape. It took her a few seconds to recollect her thoughts, moving her gaze away from the crack in his hole and gave Sans a small smile. 

 

That was new, but it was probably just her doing her job. 

 

He will admit that it was nice.

 

“i’m looking for a box of rotini by a certain brand,” he would tell her as his eyes glanced to the empty space on the shelf. The human followed his gaze and leaned closer to read the tag before immediately searching the box. 

 

“Here you are, sorry for the trouble,” the human girl said as she pulled out the box of pasta Papyrus wanted. 

  
“uh...thanks…” Sans trailed off as the human held it out for him to take. Slowly, he reached out and took the box, and once it was in his hand, the human smiled at him.

 

“Have a lovely rest of your day,” she said and immediately went back to work at stocking the shelves. 

 

“you, uh, as well.”

 

A workaholic, Sans thought as he slowly walked away from the pasta aisle. Not too bad, he thought as he remembered the old days of him constantly busying himself with odd jobs back in the underground. His soul would pulse painfully from the memories. It was a constant struggle to wonder if he would rather have the old days back or to be grateful for the new life.

 

At least in this new life, there was no more hunger. But the fear of a food shortage always stayed in every monster’s mind, so no crumb would be left on the plate.

 

Sans stopped in his steps, glancing back to see the human girl placing boxes of pasta on the shelf. She was humming a tune, looking rather happy. Almost too happy. It bothered him, just a bit. It was either out of suspicion or jealousy. 

 

Why is she so happy?

 

Why did he want to know so badly?

 

She’s just another human, he tells himself. They won’t ever meet again once he and his brother move to the country. He’ll forget about her. 

 

He’ll stop thinking about that human eventually…

 

It didn't stop his eye from glancing at the human's neck when she glanced up, giving him a good view of that soft, tender neck.

 

Fragile.

 

There was a craving welling up inside, and desperately grabbing his bearings, he forced himself to turn around and leave the aisle.

 

.

.

.

 

It was about a few days later that Papyrus wanted to go to the store to buy tomatoes that were on sale. Sans tried to talk him out of it, that maybe there wasn’t a sale, or that it had already passed, but Papyrus had the sale paper in his gloved hand and pointed at how cheap the tomatoes were.

 

“THIRTY-NINE CENTS A POUND, SANS! I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT SUCH A SALE IS ALLOWED! IMAGINE ALL THE PASTA SAUCE TO BE MADE!”

 

Back to the store they went, and Sans was leaning on the cart handle, watching Papyrus being gawked at and whispered about from the nearby customers. It seriously put him in a bad mood, but Papyrus didn’t seem to be bothered as he happily hummed away at stuffing as many tomatoes as he can into those plastic bags. 

 

Sans began to wonder if such a store like this could be found in the country--

 

His soul throbbed as he spotted that human from a few days ago, walking around with a male coworker. They were both wearing the same uniform, so it was safe to say they were probably on break. That human girl was drinking from a yellow can with a picture of a pineapple. She looked happy drinking it, and that other human was much too close for Sans liking.

 

He didn’t even understand why he was bothered by it. 

 

Sans must have stared too long as the girl eventually caught him staring. The red-eye light flickered in his socket, and he began to grip at his other empty socket. Tugging nervously, he turned away, spying his brother placing a third large bag of tomatoes into the cart. 

 

“WHAT IS THE MATTER, BROTHER? YOU HAVE NOT SAID A WORD ON THIS SHOPPING TRIP,” Papyrus asked as he placed his hands on his hips, looking down at his brother with concern. “IF IT IS ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF TOMATOES AWAITING TO BE PURCHASED, I HAVE THOUGHT AHEAD! SEE, WE SHALL MAKE A BIG BATCH OF HOMEMADE PASTA SAUCE TO HAVE LEFTOVERS FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK. IF THERE WILL BE ANY LEFTOVER AFTER TONIGHT’S DINNER. NYEHEH!”

 

Breathe. 

 

Calm down. 

 

Relax, relax… Everything’s fine.

 

Everything is fine.

 

Sans grinned at Papyrus, lazily pushing the shopping cart forward. “sounds cool, bro. i’m feeling hungry already. hope i don’t  _ pasta  _ away before dinner time.”

 

“SANS!”

 

“wassamatta with ya, paps?  _ penne  _ for your thoughts?”

 

“I WILL LEAVE YOU AT THIS STORE, SANS.”

 

And that was the second time he’s noticed the human girl. Unlike last time, his soul tingled and it was strange. 

 

He didn’t like this feeling.

 

.

.

.

 

It was the third time that he saw her where they finally talked. He came to the store to actually see her. No, not talk to her. He didn’t really want to, even though he had a question for her that was eating him alive. 

 

_ Why are you so happy? _

 

_ Why are you so happy? _

 

Is she a naturally positive person? Did something happen that made her so happy? A raise? A gift from her parents? Maybe it was her birthday that fateful day that he met her? A boyfriend-

 

Sans found himself gripping the cart handle he was pushing around. Realization crossed his mind, his entire body feeling tense. It took him a good ten minutes before he finally relaxed and began to search the store for that human girl.

 

This was probably the most exercise he’s had in a very long time. He was tired as he stepped out of the store, wondering whether to go home and try again another day, or wait a little longer. Sans debated a bit before deciding to just come back another day.  _ It’s fine _ , he told himself as he spots a red kiosk nearby the store entrance. Maybe he’d rent a movie from the Redbox kiosk in front of the store for him and Papyrus to watch. He was already pulling his wallet out, heading towards the kiosk when he saw a bench by it. It was occupied by a human.

 

The human girl. 

 

He felt himself nearly panicking internally, staring at this human girl. She was not wearing her uniform. She was wearing this black sweater and jeans. Very modest. If he had to be honest, he almost preferred that. If that same male coworker from the other day dared to look at her in a revealing outfit, he  _ w o u l d h a v e . . .  _

 

Sans tugged at his eye socket, nearly scraping his phalanges at the corner of it. Why. Why is he feeling this way?

 

He does not know her. Nor her name. All she was is this human who worked at a store he goes to sometimes. There’s no need for his mind to start thinking such possessive thoughts about a human girl.

 

If he keeps telling himself that, then he’ll believe it. 

 

She’s just a face in the crowd, Sans chanted to himself as he reached out with a shaky hand to flip the sun protector flap from the screen of the kiosk. A movie… a movie… a comedy movie would be good, Sans thought to himself as he spotted that new comedy release. He opened his wallet, tugging his debit card out before it slipped out of his boney fingers. It fell and before Sans could even snatch it from the ground, that human girl noticed and already picked it up for him.

 

“Hey, mister. You dropped it,” the girl held it out for Sans to take. 

 

He panics. 

 

Stars. The way the human is looking at him. If he actually needed to breathe, he would have lost his breath. 

 

Why is this happening?

 

Take the card already.

 

Sans reached out, taking his card from her, and nodded, “yeah, thanks… uhh, butterfingers, you know?” He waggles his phalanges at her, and instantly he wished he hadn’t done that weird thing with his hand. 

 

The human girl takes another sip, giving him this smile. “Oh, don’t worry, I’ve seen people drop their cards more than I can count.”

 

He’s relaxing at her words. It must be because of her working in customer service that she’s able to appease him. That glint in her eye, that little smile, and her soft frame just tells him that she means no harm.

 

_ Why are you so nice…? _

 

Sans takes in a breath, trying to calm himself down. If he had a heart, it must have been beating fast, like how those cliche characters describe in those trashy romance novels. The bench she was sitting on looked like it would be able to fit the both of them. He just wants to...talk. 

 

“mind if i sit with ya? i’ve been on my feet for a while now. i don’t think i can  _ stand  _ it,” Sans found himself winking at the girl as she scoots over. Sans watches as she tells him to go ahead and he stepped over, sitting down -

 

And the second his boney leg brushes against hers, he felt a spark in his soul. 

 

Soft.

 

She’s soft.

 

Sweat begins to develop on his skull and he can’t really create any words to start a conversation. All he can do is focus on how close they are, the scent of artificial pineapple in her breathe every time she sighed after taking a sip, and how soft her body looked.

 

He doesn’t understand what he’s feeling. All he knows right now is that he wants to bring her home. Keep her. Protect her from that nasty co-worker who doesn’t know about personal space. 

 

It’s when she takes the last sip from her carbonated drink that he’s brought back to reality. She really likes that drink. He saw her have it the last time he came to this store. He’ll make sure to have a nice supply for her at his place. It’ll make her happy.  

 

“ _ soda _ you come here often?” Sans asked with another wink, noticing the human girl blinked before chuckling at his pun.

 

She has a sense of humor. He was so glad.

 

“What? Are you serious?”

 

“heh. don’t like my puns? that’s not gonna  _ fizzle  _ out my creativity.”

 

She had this amused grin before shaking her soda can, and he could hear the last bit of the beverage slosh around, “I’ve seen you around the store a few times. It’s nice seeing regular customers come back,” the human explained as Sans internally nods. It takes a second before she adds with a flustered look, “oh, I work here, by the way. Today's my day off.”

 

He already knew she was a worker here. 

 

He’d rather know about her schedule.

 

“yeah I’ve seen you here and there. uhh…” Why is it so hard to talk to this human girl? A simple chat. Just talk. Befriend her. Get her number. Bring her home and  _ d o n ‘ t l e t g o . . .  _

 

It was a battle to not grab her shoulders and warp home. 

 

Why is he feeling this way? These instincts to keep her in his room and have her stay safe. Doesn’t she know how much danger she’s in working in a store like this? There are monster haters waiting around the dark corners of this area, waiting for a chance to attack out of the sights of the cameras. 

 

She could be next. 

 

He wouldn’t let that happen. 

 

“ _ can _ i ask you a question?” Sans asked as she’s ready to toss her finished drink into the nearby bin. She gives him this look that tells him that it wasn’t even a good pun, but he still catches that slight grin. “why were you so happy at work?”

 

It’s been eating him alive.

 

No one is that happy, except for Papyrus. 

 

This world is sh*t. 

 

The human girl looks at him. She’s been giving him this look a lot. Confused, but too nice to just walk away. Sans was sure that this girl probably wanted to go wherever she needed instead of just answering a question from a complete stranger.

 

No, she said she saw him a few times. So he’s just a familiar face to her. That’s better than nothing, he supposed.

 

“I can’t say I’m actually happy at work, no one is, let’s be honest… I guess I’m just in a good mood.”

 

A good mood. She’s in a good mood. 

 

Sans watched as she bid goodbye and left when a few people, presumably her friends, were waving her over. There was still a lot he wanted to say to her. Plenty of things, but only one question was answered, and it brought out even more questions he wanted to ask. 

 

Despite all these questions, he knew one conclusion.

 

He wanted that human.

 

.

.

.

 

The human is a deep sleeper, Sans found out later that night.

 

The apartment she stayed at is half an hour away by bus and eight minutes by car from the place she worked, which made it easier to keep track of his human. He was very patient, watching her in secret as she spent time with her friends for hours. It was a conflicting battle internally as he enjoyed seeing her smile, but hated the fact that she was smiling because of them. 

 

Sans is more than confident that he will make her happier.

 

The other human girls had cars while his human only had a bus pass. Some friends she had, Sans snorted as none of them had offered her a ride home. 

 

If Sans had to be honest, he would thank them. It made his job easier to follow her home.

 

It was late at night when she got off the bus to these apartments. It wasn’t a particularly bad neighborhood, but it was oddly quiet. He watched her as she climbed the steps and approached a door. Her keys came out, and it was the only copper colored key that she used to unlock that door. 

 

_ Building number 3908. Apartment door B.  _

 

The door opens and she steps in, and the second she closed it behind her, Sans immediately wanted to teleport inside. Does she share an apartment with someone else? Another lady? A guy? A lover? Who?

 

A light clicks on, a gentle yellow light peeking out from the drapes in the window.

 

Quietly, Sans approached the door and stood there. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Why is this human living in such a place? Even his apartments had security that would always hound at him about why he was standing around. 

 

_ She’s not safe here. _

 

Any sound did not go unnoticed by Sans. If a creaking sound was caught, he would immediately look for the source of the sound. He would stay still until a door opened, and then he’d warp out of there and take cover somewhere safe. An old man steps out of the apartment next door, shaking and heavily reliant on a cane. The old human would walk towards the stairs painfully slow.  _ Patience _ , Sans told himself until he noticed that the light from his human’s window turned off. 

 

She was going to bed, most likely. 

 

_ Great timing _ , Sans thought as he disappeared from his place behind the bushes. He found himself standing in the darkness once more. This time, it was the darkness inside of the apartment. He was barely able to make out the place, but it looked to be just one big room. A studio apartment. 

 

Immediately, his eye light darts towards the bed and finds the human girl asleep in the bed. Alone. 

 

She lived alone. 

 

That only answered a bit of his questions, but he supposed they could wait. Sans quietly stepped over and stopped at the twin size bed. It looked rather cramped. Either she lived humbly, or she was hitting hard times. Judging from the size of the apartment and the many cups of instant noodles in her overfilled trash can, she must be struggling in some way.

 

That’s fine. He can take care of her. 

 

His hand rested on the bed, near her shoulder. From her shoulders, his eyes landed on her neck. Soft, smooth. He couldn’t help but want to wrap his phalanges around her delicate neck. Sans talked himself out of it, settling to just stare. 

 

Sans stared for hours.

 

The way her chest rose and fell from her breathing, the soft little snores she let out, and the way she would roll from sleeping on one side to sleep on the other. Under her head was a plush tucked in for more cushion. It was a bit big with a green bulb on its back and red eyes. Cartoony. Must be from a video game. 

 

The alarm clock on the nearby foldable table said in tiny red LED lights, 3:48 AM. Sans was a bit surprised that he was here for that long. It nearly hit him with the fact that he did not tell Papyrus he was going to be out all night. He missed his bro’s routine bedtime story. 

 

That’s it. Two bedtime stories of Fluffy Bunny for Papyrus next time then. 

 

Sans wanted to sigh as he watched the human girl roll to her side for the twelfth time. The plush fell from the bed, and he reached down and picked it up. It was soft and smelled of her. Her scent. Lotion and chamomile. The most calming scent. 

 

More reason to have this human.

 

A deep breath left him, and the plush was placed against the human’s head. The bony knuckles grazed against the strands of her hair, and it felt so soft. For a second, he lost control and ran the tip of his phalanges against her hair. 

 

She didn’t wake up as he stared in awe at how her hair slipped through his fingers every time he picked up a lock of it. Soft. Pretty. The more he ran his fingers through her hair, the more he had to be careful that it didn’t get caught in his joints. 

 

He just really wanted to get into her bed, but there’s barely any room for him. The bed in his room was larger than this. He brought it straight from the Underground when they were moving to the surface. It had his scent. Sans didn’t hate how the human smelled. Far from it, but the appeal of having this human having his scent linger was ...making him very weak. 

 

Just for a second.

 

His hand hovered above her shoulder, and every reason he was telling himself not to do this failed to convince him not to grab you and teleport you straight to his room. You skin is warm and soft, and he held back this groan. 

 

Warm.   
  


Sans watched as the room grow smaller, and now he was on his knees, the familiar mattress underneath him. His eye light hovers at the sight of the human girl tensing in her sleep. He let go and stayed still, watching her roll over to her other side. 

 

His SOUL pulsed in anxious anticipation. Will she wake up? Or will she go back to sleep? That feeling turned into panic. What was he doing? He just...kidnapped her. He literally stalked her, entered her apartment, and…

 

Was this what Sans really wanted?

 

Soft snoring resumed, and Sans single eye light focused on her slumbering form. She… She went right back to sleep? Either he was really lucky, or this girl had no reliable instinct to listen to. But this works out.

 

Sans slowly laid on his side, holding an arm out and draped it over her. Gently and as slowly as he could, he pulled her close to his chest. It felt good. It felt...good. To hold someone in bed, and take in their scent and their warmth. It felt nice. It felt right.

 

One hour turned into two. Then three, then four. Soon, he found himself slowly falling asleep until he heard her mumble. Panic woke him right up and he teleported the both of them right back to her apartment and he nearly fell on her when her small bed appeared underneath them. The last thing he heard was her cell phone’s alarm going off as he teleported out of there and found himself on his bed once more.

 

Alone.

 

Sans felt disgusted with himself and collapsed against his bed. For a human. He did something as despicable as kidnapping and fondling for a human. There is no more chances of leaving it as it is. Not with his bed smelling of lotion and chamomile. 

 

It smelled so good. 

 

She smelled so good.

 

He would be back for her tonight. And the next night. And the next night after that. He will come for her until she couldn’t sleep without his scent. Sans sniffed at the mattress, nearly relaxing at the new scent in his bed. Did she smell like him as well? He wanted to find out, but he couldn’t. She’s awake. What kind of reaction would she have if he showed up in the middle of her apartment all of a sudden? 

  
She would scream and he would feel like less than dirt. She would look terrified, and he would hate himself more than he already does for scaring her. 

 

Sans immediately grabbed at his socket, phalanges sliding in and pulling hard. The pain returned to his skull and dragged him out of his thoughts. He needed to wait.

 

Patience.

 

There’s no need to rush into taking her. It would be better for the both of them if she came to him willingly, wouldn’t it? Sans let out a shaky sigh as he reaches into his pocket of his jacket, pulling out his phone. It was a little after seven in the morning. He barely got any sleep, but it wouldn’t hurt to get some shut eye before Papyrus comes in to drag him to the kitchen for breakfast spaghetti.

 

Sans curled into the mattress, trying to overwhelm his nonexistent nose with as much of her scent as possible. It’s relaxing. It smells good.  

 

Sans couldn’t wait for tonight. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I really wanted to do more, but I was too afraid it would have gone too far. Should I go for it? Then I'd have to change the ratings... Well, I'll figure it out the farther the story goes. Until next time, darlings!
> 
> Does anyone want to come follow me on Tumblr? I draw sometimes. You can ask me questions if you want.
> 
> [RabelleRabbit](https://rabellerabbit.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Please leave kudos and comments! I love seeing and reading them! Thank you!


	3. This Growing Obsession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're struggling to distract yourself from your own troubles. 
> 
> The photos in your backpack weigh your shoulders down, as well as the phone in your pocket. 
> 
> You wish all your problems would leave your mind. Let you breathe. Sit down and finally look at the early fall weather. 
> 
> You wished problems stopped appearing, like that skeleton man that won't stop looking at you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: There's sexual thoughts and actions in this, and also a non-con reference. Absolutely nothing actually happened to the reader. Sans is just fantasizing. 
> 
> I just wanted to warn you.

You stepped out of your bathroom, your yellow towel draped over your head.  _ Drying’s a pain _ , you think as you work the towel through your hair as best as you could before tossing it onto your bed and made your way to the little table for breakfast.

 

It’s over a plate of Chinese leftovers and a rerun of Parks and Rec on TV did a thought come to you about a certain skeleton customer. 

 

**Was he really following me last night?** You thought to yourself as you scoop up another bite of fried rice onto your spoon. Shoveling in that bite, you lean onto the table, reaching out and grabbing the remote. **Sorry, Ron Swanson** , you grumble as you turn the TV off and set the remote down. 

 

The last spoonful of rice makes it to your mouth before leaving the table and right back to bed you went. Dishes can be done some other time, right now you just wanted to sleep. 

 

Today’s your day off, and what better way to spend it than to sleep in?

 

Bulbasaur, the plush you bought a few months ago at the mall, is cuddled in your arms under the comforter as you pull your phone out and scroll through your messages. 

 

**Ada. Elaine. Atticus. Dahlia...**

 

It’s been about...two years since you moved out from your Mom’s place and left that old city to come to this place. It’s not bad. Rent is relatively cheap because you don’t need a lot of space. Work wasn’t hard to find, either. The bus stop is in front of the apartment gates, so getting to where you need to go isn’t hard.

 

**Philip. Vivian. Jae. Lacie. Solomon...**

 

You know you’re doing fine, other than that theft incident and that possible stalker. But that can be taken care of. You have protection after all. The taser is sitting on your nightstand, and you glance at it to reassure you have the means to protect yourself. 

 

**Alex. Claire. Haku. Jonas. June. Sebastien…**

 

Despite it all, you still feel... _ empty _ .

 

**_Elizabeth_ ** _...  _

 

You stop scrolling your messages. Not that you could continue as you reached the end of the contact list. These people are either old college buddies, neighbors, and old friends from the town you moved away from. They’re all good people in their own way, hence why you still keep in contact with them. Alex is overbearing and prone to accidents, but she means well. Atticus is wimpy and unable to make his own decisions at times, yet he mans up and does what needs to be done in the end.   

 

You’re closer to some, while others you find yourself chatting with once in a while, but there is this constant nagging on the back of your mind that you all aren’t as close as you all once had been. Conversations are nearly nonexistent, video chats aren’t as long as it used to be, and if you had to be honest, you feel a certain bit of hostility with Vivian and June.

 

Or maybe you’re just overanalyzing the conversations far too much. 

 

You can’t help but feel that your decision to move away ruined a lot of your connections with many of your inner circle of friends. That was unintentional with them. 

 

 **It doesn’t help that Mom wants me to move back home with her** , you think as you turn off your phone and close your eyes. Your phone lights up, indicating that you got a few notifications of texts and emails. **I actually don’t want to check it** _._

 

You have to.

 

Turning your phone on, the first message from Elizabeth goes ignored, and you check the other ones. There was a text reminder that you had to pay your phone bill today, a message from Sabrina about Tuesday’s lunch date, and an invite from Daniel to hang out later today.

 

You’re literally groaning at the idea of leaving bed when another text message pops up on your screen.

 

**Stop ignoring me. -Eli**

 

You sit up, pulling Bulbasaur onto your lap as you take a deep breath. It’s not surprising she knew... She’s very persistent, but you can just say you were sleeping in. She’ll let it go. God, you feel like a horrible person.

 

Maybe you are.

 

It goes as normal as one would expect. Eli sends you messages with the usual ‘ _ you never talk to me anymore _ ’ and ‘ _ I miss you _ ’. Throw one of those lame excuses at her, ‘ _ I’m busy _ .’ Eli never did accept those kinds of excuses, and if you think it over, it was sort of the truth.

 

So for the rest of the morning, you’re just texting her as you’re dressing into one of your many comfy casual outfits for today’s errands. Slightly oversized black windbreaker, leggings, and sneakers. Hair brushed and light makeup done, you decide to send Eli a selfie or two. 

 

She responds with a selfie of her with her  _ husband _ .

 

Stomach churning, you’re already typing out a response to tell her to have a good rest of her day. You never felt so eager to go pay bills. Backpack on your shoulders, taser in your pocket, you’re already out the door when your phone goes off. 

 

Eli’s message goes unread.

 

Maybe you really are a horrible person.

 

.

.

.

 

Sans nearly spent that morning sniffing the human girl’s scent from his mattress. Papyrus merely thought of him being his usual lazy self, so all Sans really had to deal with was his bro’s well-meaning nagging.

 

“WERE YOU GONE AGAIN LAST NIGHT, SANS? I CHECKED YOUR ROOM AFTER GETTING UP FOR A GLASS OF MILK. WHERE ON EARTH DID YOU GO AFTER READING FLUFFY BUNNY?” Papyrus asks from the kitchen, the sounds of plates clattering in the sink accompanying his talking. Sans hummed as he took a deep sniff. “SANS?”

 

Nah, he was definitely home last night. _ but i came home around 2 or 3 in the morning with my human _ , Sans thought adoringly. Like always, you smell so good. 

 

Today’s scented lotion made his core quiver. It smelled amazing. Zesty and sweet. Does his human collect different types of lotions? Sans did notice quite a large amount of bottles he saw in your bathroom. He might like this one the best, though he knew that you might use a new one and he’d go crazy for that new scent as well. 

 

Just another question to add to his mind. Many of them are scrawled with marked down prices, some are still in their packaging, and at least two or three of them were still partially covered with gift wrap paper. Who gave them to you?  

 

“SANS?” 

 

Sans became alert, aware that Papyrus had stepped into his room. He felt himself inwardly groan. His bones felt like they’re on fire. It’s hot. Too hot. He shouldn’t have spent most of the morning taking in your scent from the bed. It didn’t help one bit that his thoughts circles around mental images of your warm skin and soft hair. 

 

_ He spent the entire night running his hands holding you and running his phalanges through your hair, marveling at you being in his arms.  _

 

“...ANS? SANS?” 

 

T h e b u r n i n g . 

 

I t h u r t s . . .

 

Sans curled deeper into the mattress, his fingers once again digging into his eye socket and tugged down painfully. A  headache that came afterward is barely enough to distract him from the heat gathering in his lower regions. 

 

_ Into the bed. He wants to shove you against his bed, with his face buried into the crook of your neck, smelling the sweat and lotion as you gasp and grip onto the back of his rib cage.  _

 

He tugged again.

 

_ Your gasps. Your gasps and moans.  _

 

A more frantic tug.

 

_ The desperate thrusts of his hips, burying himself into you. He’d be gentle at first, of course, but it’ll become rougher and more passionate the longer the night continued. His fingers running across your stomach, the curve of your back, and trailing down your legs. All of you. He wants all of you -  _

 

A splitting headache broke him out his fantasy, and his eye light is shaking. Oh stars, he wants you so bad. Sans groans, gripping at his head. Medicine. Medicine, he needed pain medicine. Anything to make this pain go away. 

 

Papyrus already left to go grab the pain medicine from the bathroom’s medicine cabinet. Sans couldn’t help but feel grateful to his brother as he swallows the monster medicine dryly. It dissolves in his body, and the headache goes away after a few minutes. Papyrus watches on as Sans piles the blankets and pillows over his lap, sitting up and giving his bro his usual smile.

 

“thanks, paps. dunno what i woulda done without your help.” Oh, Sans knew exactly what he would have done. It involved his pillow and lots of frantic humping. His core still burns, it hurts still, but he’ll put up with it for just a few more minutes.

 

“SANS, ARE YOU ALRIGHT? WERE YOU WORKING ALL NIGHT? IS THERE A NEW JOB YOU HAVEN’T TOLD ME ABOUT?”

 

Sans never felt happier realizing that his brother just gave him an easy excuse for his night activities. The guilt, though, merely grew bigger in Sans’s conscious. There is already too much he’s doing wrong.    
  


_ It’ll all be okay in the end, though _ , Sans thinks as he gives his brother a tired smile.

 

“eh, same old same old. gotta save up a lil’ extra here and there before the big move, paps.” That wasn’t a lie. Sans had been picking up extra hours here and there. Until he found a way to actually convert his gold into human currency, he and his brother will definitely need all the cash they can get for the move to the country.

 

Not to mention the fact that he’ll need to find a house that can fit him, his brother, and his human. Do you have any hobbies, like gardening? Would you like a big backyard or a big front yard? A decent kitchen is a must, so Papyrus can cook his spaghetti. You and Papyrus can cook together-

 

He’s torn out of his thoughts as Papyrus calls out to him. 

 

“I AM PLEASED THAT YOU AREN’T CONTINUING YOUR WAYS OF BEING A COMPLETE SLOB, SANS, BUT I DON’T LIKE HOW IT SEEMS YOU’RE RUNNING YOURSELF INTO THE GROUND.”

 

Sans really took a moment to think of how lucky he is to have a cool and caring bro. Despite the burning pain in his pelvis area, Sans gave Papyrus a grin, “no worries bro, life may seem  _ rocky  _ at first, but you know what they say, we can’t take life for  _ granite _ .”

 

“SANS, I AM NOT IN THE MOOD FOR YOUR PUNS TODAY!”

 

“but you  _ lava  _ them.”

 

Papyrus was already making a break for the door, “SANS, NO! I HAVE A LOT OF PACKING TO DO TODAY, AND I DO NOT WANT YOUR AWFUL PUNS TO RUIN MY MOOD. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?”

 

“ _ crystal _ , bro.”

 

“NYEEEH! GO TO YOUR OTHER JOB ALREADY!” The door slams closed and Sans uses magic to lock it in case his bro decides to come back in. Papyrus footsteps are heard throughout the apartment before another door closes. 

 

His eye light is on the clock as he’s pulling off his shorts. He’s not due for an hour at least. Sans takes the pillow and gets comfortable on the bed. His face buried into the spot on the mattress that smelled of you the most, he grinds his pelvis against the hard corner of his pillow and he nearly loses it.

 

You’re softer than this pillow, he knows that from the several times he's slowly grounded his pelvis against you behind. All Sans wanted at the moment is to warp straight to your apartment, where you’re most likely getting out of the shower with that yellow towel wrapped around your wet body -

 

_ Water droplets sliding down your supple skin… Your slick wet hair feels nice as he runs the tip of his phalanges through it.  _

 

_ He fantasizes how you would be gripping the ends of the towel over your chest with one hand, while the other cups his bony cheek adoringly. Stars… he couldn’t get enough of just looking at you. The way your eyes crinkle when you smiled. That little mole on your nose.  _

 

_ You’re perfect.   _

 

His gyrating hips picked up the pace when the towel twirls around your legs and lies abandoned on the ground. He could feel his magic pooling down there, taking the form of his member. Sans take in a deep breath, your scent driving his mind to a puddle of lust and infatuation. His moans and desperate whimpers are swallowed up as he bites into the mattress, and at the very moment, he imagines biting into your shoulder.  _ That deliciously soft shoulder - _

 

_ You would cry out. _ He’s yet to know if you like pain. He hopes in every fiber of his being that you are.  _ Then it would be even more pleasurable for the both of you as he sinks his teeth into every inch of your body - while he’s grinding himself deep inside you.  _

 

_ Your hands are clawing at the back of his rib cage. He’s not realizing whether you’re doing it out of pleasure...  _

 

_...or desperation to get him off of you.  _

 

Sans sputtered out a gasp. No, he’d never - would he? No, he’d never force himself into you. Sans told himself that, but his hips kept moving until…

 

A wave of pleasure reverberates Sans’s entire body and he grips a fistful of his bedsheets as his anchor, riding out the orgasm.  _ More, more… _ He bucks into the pillow and once again, he shudders intensely as his member twitches and grows limp. There's a mess of blue semen all over the sheets. He's definitely going to have to clean that up.

 

Sans sighed as he lies down and takes another sniff of the mattress.

 

Sans felt empty when he realizes your scent is overwhelmed by his sweat and his seed. It’s gone and he misses it. It’s one bad news after the other when he sees the clock on his nightstand and it warns him he barely has five minutes left before he has to clock in for his job. 

 

He really didn’t want to get up. He wanted to stay in bed. Bask in the afterglow of pleasure. Sans imagined you in bed with him, also basking in the afterglow of mindblowing, passionate lovemaking. 

 

_ You would roll to your side, looking at him with this amused look. Your hair a mess and your body littered with love bites, stars… you’re so hot.  _

 

_ “You stupid bonehead. The day has to end eventually,” you’d tell him with that grin. “I’ll always be in the same place for you to find me.” _

 

Real or not, it’s enough to convince Sans to get up. His legs tingle and shiver as he gathers his towel. 

 

Sans couldn’t wait for his shift to already end so he could go see you. Today, he’ll talk to you and find out your name. 

 

Today, he will be more than just some customer. It’s mere baby steps towards being your boyfriend.

 

.

.

.

 

It’s bad enough that the local pharmacy wouldn’t stop calling you about the photos they finished developing. You swore you had already called them to cancel the photo development order weeks ago. 

 

Still, as much as you wanted to ignore picking them up, you still found yourself heading into the pharmacy for those coffee and nut M&Ms they sold.  **Six out of ten, it needs more of a coffee taste** , you thought as you approached the photo development corner. The guy smiles at you as you go right up to him.

 

Oh, he’s kinda cute.

 

Not as cute as Eli, though...

 

Before you realized it, you’re already outside the pharmacy with both your candy and the dreaded photos. The photo envelope is stuffed into your backpack and you’re already making your way to the shopping center. 

 

You spot a few monsters walking around. They look tired and cautious, but a smile and a wave from you made their spirits lift a tad bit. You’re a familiar face to them, and they’re a familiar face to you. Before even making it to your cell phone provider’s store, both humans and monsters approach you to say hello. 

 

A deer monster named Faun seemed very excited about seeing you outside of work, and to be honest you’ve seen this monster before. He always came in to buy lots of herbs and green vegetables every week with this little mouse monster. 

 

You ended up talking with Faun for quite a while until he had to go meet up with his friends. Though before he left, he had been very insistent about hanging out with you later. You agreed since you didn’t actually have anything to do until later.

 

 **It’s a little weird that the monster kind is so clingy, but I can’t blame them** , you think as you wave to Faun when he left before going into the store. **There are more cruel people than there are nice.** If you made the monsters feel comfortable, then that means you’re doing your job right.

 

You just hate the fact that your life revolves around the store. 

 

The bill’s paid for, and you’re already stepping out of the store before the employees get a chance to try and sweet talk you into buying a new phone. You don’t really want a new one if you had to be honest.

 

Now what? You stand outside the door, checking your phone. Cell phone case is looking a little worn out. Might be time for a new one. It’s barely noon, and Daniel gets off around four-ish. You’ve got loads of time.

 

It’s around five minutes after checking the time that Faun comes back from wherever he went, and he brought friends. The familiar little shaggy-furred mouse who wrapped themselves in a long scarf and a red cartoon-ish devil looking monster with one of his horns been snapped off. They introduced themselves to you as Maus and Devi, and you tell them your name.

 

Maus buried their face into their scarf shyly when you waved to them, muttering something but you didn’t quite catch that. Devi simply snickered while Faun shrugged and sighed. 

 

Okay.

 

They’re a skittish bunch, but they’re kind. Again, it hurts your heart to know that they’re afraid of being out in public. _ But _ , you remind yourself, _ there are cameras all over this place _ . No one is stupid enough to do anything risky in broad daylight. Not with all these cameras. Not with the police and security guard here. This is a safe area. 

 

Not unless those anti-monster idiots want to be arrested for assault, or... if they’re that determined, jailed for  **murder** .

 

You found yourself feeling tense, so you took a deep breath before pointing towards a fast food joint. “It’s lunchtime, do you all want to grab a bite?”

 

They all seemed to like that idea a little too much and agreed immediately. You texted Daniel if he wanted anything from Burger King, and he replied back almost immediately that he wanted a chicken sandwich. Who doesn’t love free food?

 

“Are you coming?” Devi asked and you pry your eyes away from your phone. Right, right. Gotta go get the food. 

 

“To food, y’all,” you grin as you walk past them all and practically lead them to the holy land that is Burger King that’s right across the street. Maus, the little monster that they are, skittered close to Faun and Devi. You remind yourself of your taser. 

 

They’ll be fine. You’ll be fine.

 

Going into the fast food joint wasn’t the problem. You all piled into the place and got in line. People who were already in line noticed the monsters, and they seemed a bit surprised, but when the line moved, they instantly forgot about it. 

 

Your new monster pals had their eyes on the menu and all excitedly mumbled about what to choose. Apparently, they haven’t had a human fast food burger yet. Well geez, you wished you chose a better place.  

 

It’s when a gruff man got in line behind Devi that became the problem. You weren’t aware of it, occupied by thinking about that double whopper, when you noticed Faun and Maus looking back at Devi, who stood as stiff as a pole. That man glared into the back of Devi’s head, looking almost ready to cause a scene.

 

No.

 

“Excuse me, you guys can go ahead. Order me a number 2 meal and a chicken sandwich,” you reached into your wallet and gave Faun a twenty, before moving around them and grabbed Devi by the shoulder and pushed him towards his friends. Placing yourself between them and this guy, you keep your hand in the pocket with your taser, and stood sideways to keep a watchful eye on them and the man. 

 

This stranger’s glare is on you and honestly, you’re sick of this. Sick of these people. You know this guy wants to say something, and you’re not sure what’s stopping him, but already you’re wishing that you can leave with your companions without any more issues. 

 

Faun’s already ordering food and paying the woman in the front. She seems unaware of the thick tension. The customers seem unaware. That’s fine. They’ll be aware the second this man thinks to open that mouth of his.

 

Ten minutes. You had to use yourself as a meat shield for ten minutes. That guy kept mumbling and scoffing at your direction, and if it hadn’t been for the law that said you could only use your taser for self-defense, you would have definitely tased him the second he muttered the first comment he made towards Devi. 

 

The second you noticed Faun and Devi being handed a big bag of burgers and drinks, you immediately guide them right out of the fast food joint.

 

Suffocating.

 

“You guys should think about carrying mace,” you advise as you all reach the crosswalk. Maus jumps up and presses the button for the crosswalk. 

 

“Do you carry mace?” Faun asked, looking up from the cupholder. You only wondered what flavor he chose for you. Coke, maybe. There’s no pineapple soda at Burger King. You’re also wondering how his hooves can hold them. Magic, probably.

  
“They handed something like that out at work.” When one of the managers got attacked, the boss had generously handed out mace to the employees. You got one, of course, but immediately you had gone out and bought a taser. “Then again, there’s that law saying you can use magic for self-defense, so I guess you don’t have to buy one. Never mind.” 

 

You laugh, but it doesn’t really help with the tense atmosphere.

 

It only goes away when you cross the street and within the safety of the cameras. You physically see them let out a pent-up breath. You feel guilty. Burger King must have been a bad idea. 

 

You apologize for that, but Devi shakes his head. “Nah, nothing bad happened. Besides, the burgers smell good. They’ll be worth it.”

 

Precious… 

 

“Can we eat in the store? They got tables,” Faun asked and you nod. There’s no rule against outside food, and your manager always brings in cheap pizza or wings from the nearby food joints to eat in the break room. 

 

You all literally marched into the store and went straight to the little eatery, and a familiar face sat at one of the tables with his face shoved in his phone. You tap Faun’s shoulder and point to the table. He looks a bit reluctant, but you give him this reassuring smile.

 

Daniel nearly jumped in his seat when you and the others sat down at the table. “Oh, hey, (Y/N),” Daniel greets you with a smile. He looks to Maus, Devi, and Faun. “Hello, are you friends with her?”

 

They seemed a bit reluctant to talk with him, but thankfully as burgers are passed around, they seem alright with Daniel. To your surprise, Daniel’s being very nice to them. The complete opposite of how he behaved towards that skeleton man. You clench your wrapped burger, feeling a bit nauseous. Right. You still have to deal with that issue.

 

“Is it okay for monsters to eat human food?” Daniel asks as he’s unwrapping his chicken burger. 

 

Maus looks up from their cheeseburger, looking a bit shy, but nods, “it’s okay, as long as we eat in small amounts.”

 

“Monster food is way different than human food. It leaves your body the second you eat it,” Devi says as he’s holding his burger to his mouth. “Human food doesn’t.”

  
Faun’s too busy stuffing fries into his mouth to answer, and Daniel checks the bag and cup holder before looking to you. Your too busy unwrap your burger, already picking out the jalapenos and pickles (you forgot to tell Faun to ask the lady not to add those) when Daniel pokes at your cheek. 

 

“You didn’t get me fries or a drink?” Daniel asks with this offended look. “I thought we were cool.”

 

“You said, get me a  _ chicken burger _ . You didn’t say, get me a  _ chicken burger meal, _ ” you reach up and poke his cheek back. “Besides, free food is free food. Don’t complain.”

 

“Then share yours,” Daniel grabs your soda and takes a sip from the straw. No way, you’re literally slapping your open palm against his cheek (although with little force), with him trying to brush your hand away.

 

“Get your own drink, Daniel, I swear you keep doing this sh*t!” 

 

Faun, Maus, and Devi are practically enjoying this comedy skit as Daniel’s slurping as much soda as he could before you yank it away from him. That jerk drank one-third of it. This is why you don’t eat with him during lunchtime anymore.

 

You wipe at the straw, taking a sip of the drink. Coke. Of course. You’re about to take another sip when you see Daniel holding a hand out, ready to grab at it. Glutton. “Daniel, go get me a soda and I’ll let you have the rest of this,” you offer and he’s already getting up.

 

“Pineapple?”

 

“You know me so well.”

 

Daniel leaves to go grab your new drink, while Faun stares at the pickles and jalapenos you abandoned on your napkin. “Are you going to eat that?”

 

“Oh, no. I don’t like them in my burger.”

 

“Can I eat them? It’s not good to waste food.” Maus and Devi look a bit...uncomfortable when Faun says that. Awful memories, resurfacing most likely. You don’t really want to say anything, so you just push it towards them.

 

The friendly, playful atmosphere returns when Maus reacts to how spicy the pepper is. You laugh along with Devi and Faun before taking a bite of your burger and almost cry at the fact that you missed a pepper.

 

You grab your soda and take quick sips, feeling betrayed as the laugh is now directed towards you. 

 

.

.

.

 

Sans couldn’t do it. 

 

He couldn’t stop thinking about you.

 

The second Sans clocked out for a break, he teleported straight to your bus stop. There are a couple of people there, waiting for the bus. When they saw him appear out of nowhere, some gasped and others jolted. Then there was that one guy who didn’t even notice due to having headphones drowning his sense of hearing. 

 

People should be more like that guy.

 

Sans glanced around the bus stop but didn’t find you anywhere. He ignored the stares from the people. Not here. You’re not here. Maybe the store? If you’re not there, then maybe you’re at home. Sans cursed under his breath as he teleported out of there.

Magic isn’t illegal.

 

He finds himself in front of the store, and some customers pushing their carts out of or into the store react out of shock or surprise. Sans ignores them, going right into the store and glance at the checkout lanes. You’re not there. 

 

His soul felt empty. 

 

Is today your day off? 

 

Where are you? 

 

He doesn’t know your schedule yet. Or what you usually do on free days. 

 

Why is he feeling so desperate…?

 

Sans almost left the store when he saw that cashier guy from the other day. The one you changed shifts with when the guy was shaking in his shoes. The name tag said, Daniel. The same guy you were walking around the store with when Sans was with Papyrus buying those tomatoes.

 

_ Daniel _ . 

 

The name and who it belongs to specifically makes him...angry. 

 

Daniel hurried past Sans, and he noticed that the human held a yellow can in his hands. Pineapple soda. His human’s favorite. Sans found himself keeping a distance as he followed after Daniel. 

 

There’s an eatery here in the store. The fries here are decent. The hot dogs? He’s had better. Sans hid behind the display of chips, his eyes following Daniel as he goes up to a table occupied by four others. He recognized those monsters. Fellow Snowdin inhabitants. 

 

Maus, Devi, and Faun.

 

The fourth person? 

 

You.

 

Sans is surprised to see them there, but he’s more surprised to see them laughing with you. Fondness overtook him, as he watched with adoring eyes at the way you laugh with them. He’s jealous of course, but you’re so adorable when you laugh that he forgets about his envy.

 

Your hand covers your mouth, cringing and talking about something being too spicy. You take another sip of your drink when Daniel sits down with you and presses his side up against you.

 

Sans froze, eyes nearly glaring daggers into Daniel’s head. 

 

Get away from his human. Get away. Stay away. Stop being so touchy. 

 

Daniel smiles at you as he holds the can towards you. Your lips leave the straw of your soda, and you set it down to take the can. Daniel takes your cup and immediately takes a sip from the cup -

 

Sans eye sockets were void of any light when Daniel had done that.

 

His lips on the very straw your lips had _ t o u c h e d _ -

 

His side snug into  _ y o u _ -

 

**R A G E**

 

He could feel the magic bursting from within. He wanted to encompass Daniel’s soul in blue and toss him out of the seat. Throw him right across the store and have him land on the shelves. The air knocked right out of his lungs. His head smacked into the metal shelves hard enough that he lost consciousness. 

 

Sans raised a hand, enveloped in blue magic, eye light focusing on Daniel’s stupid laughing head. 

 

It’s nothing personal. He shouldn’t have touched you so casually. 

 

“Sir, do you need something - ?”

 

Sans flinched, blue magic knocking into the display he hid behind. The chips were knocked down as the eatery worker let out a cry of shock, as Sans found himself being rained down with bags of chips. Sour cream and onions slapped him in the face, barbecue smacked his shoulders, and ruffles landed on top of his head. Thank the stars it didn’t fall into his cracked head hole. 

 

“Sir? Sir? Are you okay?” The worker’s voice is full of concern, but they’re probably for the potato chips, Sans thought as he reached up and grabbed the bags, placing them onto the display.

 

“...sorry.”

 

“Oh no, don’t worry about it. Sorry for scaring you,” the worker said as he went around the counter to pick up the chip bags. Sans took a shaky breath before kneeling down and grabbing some of the bags. 

 

_ Daniel must have been born lucky, _ Sans thought as he looked over longingly. That human gets to sit with you and work with you and talk with you -

 

Oh.

 

Sans froze when he spots you and your table mates looking right at him. Of course they would, after all, chip bags were raining down on him. But he was glad that happened.   
  


You’re looking at him now. His soul flutters in excitement and magic rush to his face. 

 

You, however… You feel the exact opposite.

 

**Was he watching me??** You tense up.

 

Maus, Devi, and Faun are laughing and waving at Sans. Sans feels this nervousness spike as he grabs a few more chip bags and places it on the display. He took a moment to find composure before heading over, ignoring the worker calling out to him.

 

“heya.” Sans greet as he approaches the table. His eyes flicker towards you, and he feels this crushing weight on his soul when he sees this suspicious look on your face. Daniel looked outright terrified of Sans, though. Good. 

 

“Hi, Sans.” 

 

“Long time no see, Sans!”

 

“You sure sent those bags of chisps flying, Sans.”

 

Sans watched as you glanced away from him, and it nearly tore him to pieces. Did he do something to annoy you? Sans watched as you take a sip of your drink, but you didn’t smile like you usually did. Something’s wrong.

 

“Sans?” Devi calls to him, and Sans took a deep breath before grinning at his old neighbors.

 

“eh. it was an accident. i felt bad when the guy started picking them up, so i decided to  _ chip  _ in,” Sans winked as the monsters laughed. Daniel didn’t seem to understand the pun as he’s much too busy looking uncomfortable being near Sans, and you didn’t seem eager to react.

 

His little human likes his puns. He knows it. You laughed when he threw so many soft drink puns at you when he talked with you at the bench the other day.

 

He really did do something wrong.

 

“Do you want a burger? We have extra,” Faun offers as Sans pry his eye light away from you. Daniel lets out a gasp, seeing the elusive burger being held out towards Sans.

 

“What? We had another one?”

 

“You already had a burger. Not to mention my fries, and you took my soda, greedy guts,” you cut in with a playful glare. Sans took the burger, almost wanting to crush it in his hands as he thanked Faun for the meal.

 

“I bought you a soda to replace it!” Daniel defends himself as you pick up the can and compare it with the much larger cup. “Okay, so maybe I need to buy you two more. But still.”

 

“But whatever, Daniel.” You rolled your eyes before taking a nice bite of your burger.

 

This playful banter made Sans sick in his non-existent stomach. Why are you so close with this human? Even if you and Daniel work together, a workplace relationship shouldn’t be this close.

 

Close enough to play around.

 

Close enough to share drinks.

 

Close enough to press shoulders _ t o g e t h e r . . . _

 

A generic phone alarm blasts through the air, snapping Sans from his thoughts as he spots Daniel reaching into his pocket and pulled out his phone. 

 

Daniel frowns to himself before excusing himself from the table. 

 

_ Yes, go away. _

 

**No, please don’t leave.**

 

“My lunch break’s over. It was nice meeting all of you. (Y/N), I’ll see you in a few hours.”

 

(Y/N) …

 

That’s your name. That’s beautiful, Sans wanted to sigh and say your name. To see how natural it rolls off his tongue. But he held back, as that feeling of adoration and love disappeared from Sans soul and immediately replaced with disgust and anger.

 

You’re seeing Daniel again in a few hours??!

 

Sans looked at you, while you gave Daniel this small smile.  _ Don’t smile at that bastard.  _ “...yeah sure. See ya, Dan. Good luck with that line. Looks like murder.”

 

_ You have a nickname for him, too? _

 

Daniel looks over to the checkout lane area and spies the long lines. There’s this annoyed look on his face before he groans. “Can you help out, (Y/N)?”

 

You’re tempted to accept.

 

Your stalker is standing right there, and he keeps glancing at you. You do want to get to the bottom of this, but you’re unsure of how to actually go at it in a safe manner. 

 

Should have searched it up on Google.

 

You give Daniel a smile, “Maybe I will in a bit. Could always use a bit of extra cash, anyways.” 

 

“Yes!” Daniel practically beams, thrusting a fist into the air before he left.

 

_ Finally _ , Sans thought in relieved silence as his grip on the burger loosens. His eyes settle on you once again, and this time you meet his gaze. 

 

_ Your eyes are so beautiful. _

 

A cold chill runs down your spine and you glance up, spotting the skeleton man looking at you for the twentieth time this past five minutes. 

 

Maybe you should have left with Daniel. This skeleton man won’t stop looking at you. He must definitely be in some way...obsessed? Or curious. You don’t know. You don’t know anymore. You’re safe, of course. Devi, Maus, and Faun are right there. 

 

Are you, though…?

 

Right as you’re struggling to choose what to do next, Maus has already invited Sans - that’s his name, right? - to sit down at the table. There’s no empty seat other than beside you. You’re already in the middle of biting down on your burger when it hits you. 

 

There’s no other seat  _ except  _ for the one beside  _ you _ .

 

You can’t breathe or think when you hear Sans shuffle close and pull the chair out. He’s a big and tall guy, so the second he sits down, his arm is pressed up against yours. 

 

To you, you’re uncomfortable.

 

To Sans, he’s never felt more comfortable in his entire life.

 

Soft. 

 

Sans felt himself close his sockets, nearly reveling in the body contact between you and Sans. You’re awake and right next to him. He’s tempted to grab your hand and lace fingers and phalanges together, but both of you aren’t at that level quite yet. He needed to -

 

He felt it.

 

Ever so slowly, you scooted away from him. 

 

Away. 

 

You moved away from him. You  _ moved  _ away from Sans. Sans felt almost ready to jump out of his seat and grab you. He would grab you and trap you in his arms. He would make you crave his touch. 

  
What did he do? Why would you let that annoying Daniel be close to you, but not Sans? Who is he to you? Why Daniel, and not him?

 

W H Y H I M 

 

A N D 

 

N O T S A N S ? 

 

**That’s it, I can’t do it.** You rewrap your burger, getting up and grabbing your backpack and drink. Maus is the first to notice, looking confused and concerned. 

  
“(Y/N)?” 

 

All eyes are on you. Even from Sans, despite the eye light missing from his dark sockets. You don’t know if the monsters are aware of it, or maybe they are, but Sans is…intimidating. 

 

Just… take a breath. You inhale and very slowly, released that breath before giving them that best customer service smile. The very same smile that seems to charm the monster kind who came to shop in this store. 

 

“I promised Daniel I’d see if I can help. It’s really nice having lunch with you. I’d be happy to eat with you three again.” You weren’t lying about that, and with a small wave, you hurried off to the front.

 

_ You ignored him. You avoided him. You hate him, don’t you? _

 

Sans gripped the burger so hard, his phalanges tore through the wrapper. He could feel them sink into the bun. Devi seemed to notice it and attempted to lighten Sans’s mood. 

 

“Nice human girl. A little bit of a busybody,” Devi cackled, nudging against Faun who merely huffed at his friend before gripping the straw of Maus’s drink and lowered it towards the meek mouse.

 

“She left so suddenly. We’ll have to get her number for you later,” Faun tries to cheer up the meek monster. 

 

Sans twitched as Maus sighed. Maus reached their head up to take small sips of their drink, while Sans wanted nothing more than to just warp straight out of there with Maus and scream into the mouse’s face.

 

_ Stay away!!!!! _

 

“It’s okay…” Maus said as they sat up in their seat while Sans felt his fingers twitch. A distraction… a distraction… “It’s only a little crush. I’ll get over it eventually. I’m too shy to even try and have a full conversation with her.”

 

Faun and Devi patted the little monster while...Sans felt so relieved. His grip loosened on the burger, and this time he decides to actually unwrap the thing. It’s a mess. That’s definitely Sans’s fault, he’ll admit. It didn’t look better than the burgers Grillby used to make, though.

 

Sans took a bite. Yep, it’s nothing compared to Grillby’s. It’s still tasty, and he’ll definitely finish it. Sans nearly ate half of it in a mere few seconds while watching Faun and Devi are having a full-blown pep talk with Maus.

 

They’ll find a nice human or monster to soul bond with. There’s that saying that in the entire world, there’s always someone who is a perfect match for the one who’s searching. 

 

Sans used to believe that the saying was a load of bull, but now he couldn’t help but believe it. You’re the one for him. 

 

Maus and everyone can have whoever they want, as long as it isn’t  _ you _ .

 

Still, it seems as though there’s an issue between you and Sans. Once he finishes his burger, he’d go and have a talk with you.    
  


He’ll properly introduce himself and charm you the best he could.

 

He’ll ask for your number.

 

He’ll convince you to not spend time with Daniel this afternoon.

 

He’ll bring you home and -

 

“So… you got a thing for the human, too?”

 

Sans almost choked on the last bite of his burger. Pickles, be damned. Sans rasped, looking up to Faun who looked at him with this funny look. Sans glanced to the others, finding them already gone. 

 

“They left to go use the restroom,” Faun explains, having noticed Sans glancing over to the empty seats. Faun finishes his last fry, smiling at Sans. “So, you like the human?”

 

Like is an understatement. No, he is infatuated with you. Obsessed. Adores. He would go on, but he’s a physicist, not a walking thesaurus. 

 

Sans didn’t respond, especially when Faun had this look of pity, “Maus is taking it sorta well. But what about you?”

 

That caught Sans’s attention. “what do you mean?”

 

“That human guy’s her boyfriend right?” 

 

N O

 

Faun sat back in his chair, watching as Sans jumped up from his chair. He towered over his fellow monster, his entire presence nearly swallowing Faun alive. 

 

Forget taking baby steps. 

 

“thanks for the burger,” Sans mumbled out as he shoved his hands into his pocket, leaving the table and going straight towards the checkout lanes. The place you had made a beeline for. 

 

You’re not there. 

 

His eye light scanned the checkout lanes. He saw that despicable Daniel, who tried making small talk with a customer but got ignored. Sans wished you would take that customer’s advice and ignore Daniel too. 

 

Sans felt himself growing angry. Why are you so hard to track down? If he had a connection to your soul, it would make everything so much easier. He’d know where you are at any time. There would be no need to memorize schedules. 

 

Which is good, because he liked doing the bare minimum. Not that you aren’t worth all the hard work.

 

Sans took a breath. It took only a minute to calm down and release the tension off his shoulders. Calm down… just look. 

 

The cashiers are there. No (Y/N). And no...manager.

 

Sans eye light lit up brightly. You must be in the office with the manager right? He knew exactly where that is when he grabbed an application for a friend.

 

Immediately, he teleported right out of there, before reappearing right by the door of the manager. There’s no one in the hall. If he looked to the right, he could see the freezer aisle. To the left, a few doors with one of them having a sign that said “Management”.

 

Bingo.

 

Sans stepped out of the hall, waiting by the freezers for you to step out. It wouldn’t be a good idea to just barge in there. The manager would definitely call security on Sans if he just grabbed your wrist and dragged you away.

 

He didn’t need distractions. 

 

Sans waited thirty minutes until the door opened, and you stepped out carrying a few papers. You looked a bit stressed, and he desperately wanted to yank those papers away and hold you. If you just accepted him, he’d take care of everything.

 

You wouldn’t need to work anymore. You wouldn’t have to live in that cramped apartment. You wouldn’t have to deal with the unwanted advances from that shitty coworker and that meek little mouse.

 

Sans promised he’ll give you everything, as long as you gave him your everything.

 

A sigh left your pretty pink lips, and your eyes focused on those papers. You walked out of the hall, approaching Sans closer and closer. His soul screamed for you, and he was indeed tempted to snatch you away and teleport out of there.

 

But he shouldn’t do that. No. He promised himself to win you over first. If not, then…

 

Your gasp stopped him from finishing that thought. 

 

Your eyes are on him, and he loved it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that showing instead of telling is a far better approach when it comes to storytelling, but sometimes I just want to reveal so much right then and there, but it wouldn't make for a good story, would it?
> 
> Hello everyone. It's a little after one in the morning and I'm just dead tired. You can bet your bottom dollar that I'm going to post another update in the wee hours of the morning again. 
> 
> I have a tumblr. If you request it, I can draw fanart. Hehehe... 
> 
> [RabelleRabbit](https://rabellerabbit.tumblr.com/)


	4. Win Her Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's surprisingly easy to emotionally manipulate someone when they're at their weakest points.
> 
> As much as Sans hated to take advantage of you during your panic attack, he would convince himself he's simply comforting you.
> 
> It pays off, as you slowly erase the idea of him ever being considered a creepy stalker.

“Hey, (Y/N)!”

 

Daniel waves to you from his register as you hurry over. You glance back, noticing that Sans didn’t follow after you. You feel so relieved. With a sigh, you wave back to Daniel before sitting right at the little management table. 

 

You unwrap the leftover burger, taking a bite. Of course, food would attract Daniel’s attention immediately. 

 

“Hey, I asked you to help out. Not eat in front of me,” Daniel scowls, as he immediately turns that into a smile when he greets the next customer.

 

You shrug, taking another bite. That’s followed by a sip of your drink. “I lied.” 

 

Daniel placed his hand over his heart, leaning back with this incredulous gasp, “I trusted you.”

 

“That's your first mistake.” Another bite to dominate the conversation. All’s fair in love for food. 

 

An avian bird monster approached the conveyor belt, placing some groceries. Daniel greets the monster with a big smile. There’s no sign of fear on his face. You take a second to think about it. He also didn’t seem to be afraid of Faun, Maus, or Devi…

 

When Sans came in, that changed.

 

That skeleton… Whatever reason he had for doing something so terrifying that night at the bus stop, it made you feel incredibly uncomfortable being alone in public at night. You’ve been taking the initiative of asking one of the night security guards in the store to walk you to the bus stop and waiting there until the bus arrived. 

 

Each and every time, the security guards would ask why you’re unwilling to be out and about late at night all alone. 

 

**You should have told them of the possibility that you’re being stalked.**

 

But you didn’t.

 

Deep inside, you want to pass it off as Sans being shy. You tell yourself -

 

**Sans was only there that night trying to talk to you and approached you slowly. It came off as scary, and he’s been trying to apologize ever since.**

 

… Something like that…

 

Yes. 

 

Something like that would have been accepted if he came up to you and apologized for his unsettling behavior. An excuse like that… It would have been fine.

 

.

.

.

 

**Except it isn’t.**

 

.

**.**

**.**

 

You’re not an idiot. He’s following you, and you should really call the police.

 

But what if he isn’t stalking you?

 

_ Sans better have the best excuse in the world _ , you think to yourself as the last of your burger is shoved into your mouth. 

 

Quickly you crumple the wrapper in your hands while glancing over to Daniel. The avian bird looked rather pleased with Daniel’s service.  

 

“I’m actually starting to understand why you’re so nervous around that skeleton monster.”

 

Daniel didn’t seem to hear you, as this chatty old woman drowned you out with her concerns over how sweet the can of baked beans might be. It’s baked beans. 

 

Scratching the back of your head, you lean back and let out a soft sigh. You repeat those words in your head like a mantra.  _ It’s fine. It’s fine. It’s fine - _

 

A hard finger tapped your shoulder from the side, and your blood ran cold. 

 

Oh.

 

You bite down on your lower lip, feeling fear tearing into your stomach. 

 

Oh no.

 

No.

 

No no no no no no nononononono - !

 

Please don’t let it be that skeleton man…! The hardness of the finger had nearly pressed deeply into your flesh, that when it lifted away, you could still feel it. 

 

“(Y/N)?” 

 

You quickly glance over to the owner of that hand, and you almost felt tears build up in the corner of your eyes when you saw your manager standing there, giving you this look. 

 

_ Oh, thank God -! _

 

“(Y/N), can I talk to you for a second?” The front end manager, Mark, asked as he approached you. He held his binder out, tapping it against his free hand. 

 

You try not to let it be obvious that you’re incredibly relieved, so you took a breath and gave Mark your usual smile, “Is there something wrong?”

 

Mark doesn’t bother answering. He’s probably saving it until you’re both in the office. You don’t remember if you did anything wrong. You treat the customers right, did your work, and you never took a second slice whenever the ladies in the bakery brought in an unclaimed or extra cake.

 

That’s pretty good cake, too. So your ultimate sacrifice better win you some brownie points with Mark, who has a sweet tooth. 

 

Sliding off your little spot, you follow after Mark to the little side hallway tucked away near the freezer aisles. Windows showing colorful and delicious pints of ice cream receded from your vision the deeper Mark and you walked towards the manager’s office.

 

Inside the manager’s office is a desk with sticky notes all over the computer, two worn out chairs, binders tucked away wherever there was space, and file cabinets shoved against the corner of the already cramped room. 

 

You’ve been here before. For the monthly evaluations of progress on scanning, voiding, and typing in codes as a cashier, and for a write-up.

 

You still remembered the many front-end managers scolding you for having an argument with one of the customers. 

 

**_“The customers always win in the end, (Y/N). They can complain and walk away, while we deal with the aftermath of losing customers and getting a bad rep with those who saw the employees losing their cool.”_ **

 

Anger. Then fear. And then some more anger. You’re almost shaking again.

 

Mark sits down on one of the creaking chairs, letting out an exhausted sigh before gesturing to take a seat as well. As you do, you spot him reaching over to another folder and flip it open. He licks the tip of his fingers as he tosses through the pages, looking for something.

 

“(Y/N), I wanted to ask you if there are any issues in your home life with your family?” Mark asks and you find yourself blinking.

 

“I live alone. I thought Debby told you that?” You mentioned one of the other front end managers. Deb is quite the chatterbox, so you would have thought she’d inform the entire staff that you live alone, like many of the other employees here in the store.

 

Mark reaches over for a pen on the desk, brushing away some post-it notes in the process, and jots something down on the page he finally settles on, “this morning, a woman named Idania called us many, many times.” You freeze up. “That woman’s your mother, right?”

 

Anger returns, and you grip the ends of your windbreaker to try and stop your hands from shaking. It didn’t work. “I…” You don’t really know what to say. You really didn’t think she’d go that far. “I’m sorry. I’ll make sure it never happens again.”

 

“Have you spoken with her recently? A fight? She had been hysterical on the phone. We’re lucky we even caught her name,” Mark is writing more things down and you know exactly what he’s writing.

 

“I haven’t spoken to her in awhile…”

  
“I see. From what she was screaming about, I had assumed you two spoke recently…”

 

“I’m sorry.” 

 

Mark nods. “I just wanted to inform you of what’s going on.”

 

What a mess. You run your fingers through your hair, watching Mark lick his finger and turn the page as he begins to write more down. After a while of him silently writing, he pushed the tabs down to open the rings and pulled out the papers. 

 

“I do not want this to occur again. It’s a disturbance to our workplace. I would have had to let you, but you’re a good employee to this store. So a write up’s enough.”

 

“Right… Thank you,” you say as he holds the papers out to you. You hold a hand up and grip it so tight, your fingers are digging into the sheets. You were given the pen to sign the write-up, and that barely took a second to do. The paper is taken away, leaving you with one last sheet of paper. 

 

It’s a two-week suspension form.  

 

“That being said, I wanted to suggest perhaps taking some time off of work will help with your situation. You haven’t taken your vacation days yet,” Mark says as he takes the pen back from you and watches your face go blank. “Some time off should give you the opportunity to handle your situation with your mother.”

 

A write up… 

 

A suspension...

 

This isn’t your first write up, but one more and you’ll either get demoted or fired from this store. You can’t help but glare into the paper. Geez. Not to mention getting suspended. You’ve never been suspended before. Your rent. Your food.

 

What are you going to do…?

 

“I’ll make sure it never happens again,” you find yourself saying, the exhaustion and anxiety reaching your face. Mark says something, but you’re already getting up from your chair and leaving the cramped room.

 

This honestly put you into an even worse mood. All you wanted to do is put a rain check on your plans with Daniel and go straight home to cry into a bucket of ice cream.

 

It’s weird to mention that for the past few days, your bed’s been awfully comfortable. Something you definitely need right now. 

 

You glare into the papers, finding yourself scowling.

 

You’re definitely going home.

 

A bed, a pint of ice cream, maybe some Netflix… 

 

Anything to distract you of the intense need to confront your mom about this issue and the issues of paying for food, rent, and bills in the next few weeks. It’s like she believes you’ll get kidnapped one of these days if you don’t stay with her - 

 

**Speak of the devil.**

 

You couldn’t help but gasp in frightful bewilderment when you spotted Sans standing around the freezer aisles near the little hallway. 

 

How did he know you where here?

 

When did he see you come here?

 

There’s no way… There’s no way he’s NOT stalking you. 

 

His eyes meet yours, and you find yourself feeling a slight shiver of fear trailing down your spine. You tried to keep yourself from grimacing, but that failed. 

 

Your eyes meet his, and that bony grin of his seemed to grow a bit bigger. You shudder, gripping the paper tightly. 

 

“heya.” Sans waves to you, smiling away. You’re not smiling, and he can sense the hostility off of you. “no need to give me the  _ cold  _ shoulder, (Y/N). I just wanted to give you a  _ warm  _ greeting.”

 

You watch him hold his hand out towards you. Ugh, of course, he knows your name. His friends practically yelled it out to him back at the tables. 

 

“the name’s sans. sans the skeleton.  _ ice  _ to meet you, sweetheart.” 

 

That skeleton man’s, no, Sans’s hand waits for you to take it, and give it a shake. If you had to be honest, his little friendly words almost, almost swayed you over to greet him kindly as he did with you. 

 

If you had to admit, you’re glad your anxiety is telling you not to do it. 

 

Sans immediately noticed, and there’s this sad look on his face. “what? don’t  _ snow  _ how to greet a new pal?” Eventually, Sans pulls his hand back, and shoves it into his pocket. “i hope i ain’t botherin’ you right now, but-”

 

That’s it.

 

“You need to cut it out.”

 

Sans stares at you with that red eye light of his. He’s studying your grimace. That deep frown. He would prefer a big smile on his human’s face, honestly. He let out a sigh, reaching up and scratching just a bit below the jagged cracks in his head.

 

“You’re gonna have to throw me a bone here, sweetheart. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Oh, Sans knew  _ exactly  _ what you’re possibly talking about. 

 

The late night stalking he couldn’t help himself from doing. The many, many late night cuddlings when you’re dead asleep. His snooping around your apartment so he could learn as much as he could about you.

 

(So far, he understands that you moved out from your mother’s home. You really like pineapple soda, but a while ago you had also really liked grapefruit soda judging from the receipt papers of only that flavored soda from the local corner store found in your trash. You have way too many friends, which annoys him, but barely any of them talks to you anymore, much to his liking. You like a video game franchise called Pokemon, and it seems that the green plush may be your favorite. You bake. You use lotion religiously- )

 

Sans had to stop himself from continuing those thoughts. He needed to pay attention to what you’re saying. See, he knows what he’s done, but he needed to know what you know so that he could formulate his next response. 

 

His next words needed to be perfect to win you over as a friend. Then, and only then, could he win you over as his girlfriend, then eventually his -

 

“You know what I’m talking about! That night when I was at the bus stop - you were there. Watching me. Standing there,” You point at him accusingly, almost wanting to reach over and slap that boney grin right off his face. There’s nothing funny about being approached in such a terrifying way. 

 

There are cameras in the little hallway. You’re safe if he tries anything. Mark is still in the office, so if you screamed for his name, he’ll come running.

 

Sans eye light flickered, before disappearing, and he stared at you.

 

...ah.

 

That’s it? That’s all you’re mad about? Sans really wanted to cry and laugh. 

 

_ Sweetheart _ , he wanted to say,  _ you need to be more careful when you’re asleep.  _

 

But he won’t say it. No, he rather likes the late night cuddles. He can’t risk you looking at him fearfully with those gorgeous eyes of yours. He can’t risk getting the police called on him. 

 

“didn’t mean to cause any alarm. i was just making sure you got on the bus safe and sound. there are a lot of those activists hiding about,” Sans took a moment to feign a guilty and concerned look. He glanced to the side, “sorry. it must have looked creepy, huh?”

 

On cue, Sans saw your face churn to guilt.  _ It’s okay _ ,  _ sweetheart _ , Sans thought with satisfaction,  _ you’ll make it up to me in no time _ . 

 

There’s an internal battle going on inside your head. He sounds genuinely sorry to have spooked you. But...but what if he’s lying? He could be lying to your face. There’s this ice cold feeling churning inside your stomach, that made you feel so nervous and sick with worry. And just like that, invisible boulders are stacking onto your head. One by one, as each one of them, is placed on you, and your knees shake from how it weighs your mind with fear and anxiety. 

 

.

.

.

 

Your friends are distancing themselves from you since the move.

 

_ Some friends you are. _

 

There are anti-monster activists everywhere that it’s hard to eat anywhere without possible fights.

 

_ Racism is still a problem, even after hundreds and hundreds of years? Grow UP. _

 

Your mom is demanding you to come home.

 

_ I’m not a baby. _

 

Your manager suspended you when it’s right around the time for rent. 

 

_ I said I’m sorry, Mark. _

 

You got a write-up, with one away to get demoted or fired.

 

_ I can’t mess up anymore... _

 

Eli is drowning you with obnoxious words of her married life with that stupid  **husband** of hers.

 

_ KEEP RUBBING IT IN MY FACE, WHY DON’T YOU? _

 

.

.

.

 

An invisible iron shackle snaps around your ankle, and if you were to walk away, you’d be dragging your feet all the way home. You’re just tired. Tired, tired, tired. 

 

“...urgh...!” You hiss under your breath before reaching up to rest a hand over your face. You didn’t notice the concern on Sans’s face, “s-sorry…! I’m just…I’ve got a lot on my plate, okay? I didn’t mean to sound rude.”

 

What’s wrong? Is it money trouble? Is it home issues? Tell him, and Sans will do whatever he could to erase that stress away. Sans itched to reach out and hug you, but he knew you’d reject his embrace. He knew, which is why he isn’t angry. 

 

Because his human didn’t know him as well as he did of her.

 

“You really didn’t have to watch out for me like that. We have security here to walk me to the bus stop if I felt threatened,” you explained as you awkwardly rub your neck, “actually, you don’t have to...creep around like that. It really did scare me.”

 

Sans gave you this guilty look. Ah, maybe he did go a little overboarded. He’s trying to pursue the human, not scare her into thinking he’s some sort of serial killer. “didn’t mean to scare ya. I guess I got  _ cold  _ feet about going up to ya and introducing myself.”

 

Sans gave a wink, and eventually, you crack the tiniest of smiles.

 

It grew quiet and your fingers itch to grab your phone out and check the time. Maybe you could catch the nearest bus? Your bed sounds really inviting right now. 

 

Sucking a breath in, you turn away from Sans. You grip onto the straps of your backpack, gathering enough courage to speak instead of just screaming into the ceiling about this ridiculous stress, “i-it was nice to meet you, but I have - ”

 

“are ya doin’ anythin’ later?” Sans asked so suddenly you were nearly thrown off. Where did that come from? You look to him hesitantly and found his eye light staring right into yours. 

 

It’s sort of intimidating. 

 

“I… listen, uh, Sans. I’m,” you’re looking for a way out of this conversation. Please, the thing you need the most is him leaving you alone right now.  _ Change the subject _ , you’re screaming at yourself to do just that. You hold a hand over your mouth, feeling an anxious ridden gag reflex coming up. 

 

Home.

 

Please, you just want to go home.

 

This incoming panic attack does not go unnoticed by Sans, as he’s immediately by his human side and placing his hands on your shoulders. “(Y/N)? hey. shhh… it’s okay, sweetheart. I’m here.” 

 

The tips of his phalanges run circles on your back, and you’re shaking. It feels...oddly good, but your mind is running miles a second with the idea that a possible stalker is comforting you in your weak state that it makes you panic more.

 

“Guhh...uhhgh...guuh...a..huuh…” Every attempt at a word comes out as a gagged gurgle. You keep finding yourself holding a hand over your mouth, trying to prevent the fried rice and the burger to find a new home on the floor. 

 

“deep breathes, c’mon,” Sans gently encouraged your shaking form. The slightest moment of dry swallowing almost made you throw up for real. “deep breaths, (Y/N). c’mon, walk with me.” 

 

All he cared about is getting you through this panic attack of yours. Oh, his poor, poor human. Who did this to you?

 

Sans wraps an arm around you while offering his other arm for you to cling to. You find yourself gripping his sleeve as he walks forward, dragging you along. You take shaky steps towards the direction of the exit of the store and you leaned against Sans. You shake and sob, with many thoughts of self-hate filling your very core.

 

_ It’s just stress. What’re you crying for? There are a ton of people out there going through worse sh*t. Stop crying. Stop. Just STOP. _

 

The doors slide open as Sans and his human came close. Many customers and the cashiers glanced over, curious and concern. But none of them seemed to want to come over to check on your shaking form. Look at that, (Y/N), none of them care about you except him. 

 

Sans glared at Daniel’s direction as if daring him to come over. Daniel’s shaking. He wants to come, Sans can see that. Perhaps the skeleton man himself is a bit too intimidating. It’s times like this that Sans found himself completely fine with that fact.

 

Without a second thought, Sans guided you out the doors and towards the benches near the Redbox kiosk. The very place where he and you held an official conversation together. Where he heard you laugh and learned of your current favorite soda. 

 

Sans stepped back after sitting you down, and he quickly searched his pockets for quarters. Finding a few, he nearly attacked the vending machines nearby for any pineapple-flavored drink. Coke, Sprite, Dr. Pepper… Fanta. He nearly jammed the coins into the slot when he spotted the yellow drink. 

 

He slammed the button and heard the vending machine dispense the can into the little compartment underneath. Sans grabbed it and hurried to your side, offering it to you. A little distraction. Anything to distract you and help you through this.

 

“hey…” Sans softly says, slowly gaining your attention. He holds the can to your gaze, “look what i got for you. your favorite. the one with the pineapple. you like that right?”

 

“...yeah…”

 

Sans keeps the conversation going as he sits next to you and pops the can open. The smell of artificial pineapple hits you, and it somehow calms you. Sans holds it out to you, and you glance at him. Carefully, you hold a hand up to grab it, but he didn’t let go. He’s probably making sure that you don’t drop it.

 

With that in mind, it makes it easier to guide it to your lips and you take a shaky sip. The fuzzy drink fills your dry mouth and you swallowed it down. It nearly goes down the wrong pipe, and you cough. Sans pats your back. 

 

“whoops. looks like you like it a little too much, huh?” Sans teases, as he reaches out and tucks a lock of your hair behind your ear. He could see your face better now. And you’re on the verge of tears. 

 

This is the first time he’s seen that face, and he despises it. You don’t deserve this emotional punishment you’re going through, and he’ll make sure he’ll get rid of whatever caused this.

 

He’ll make sure that smile comes back.

 

Sans continued to talk to you. He made sure you had your space, even if he wanted to hug you, and occasionally moved the soda can to your lips so you can drink it. From what you managed to reply back, Sans learns that there’s always free food in the break room and they served different flavors of soda once, and that’s how you gained a liking to this fruity soft drink. 

 

Half an hour goes by, and the can is empty, and the shaking stops. 

 

Your nose is runny and your face is sweaty and hot. The slight cold air feels nice against it, though. A sigh leaves you, and you slouch in your spot on the bench. You still feel nervous and anxious, but the worst is over. You’ll be fine.

 

Sans catches your vision from the corner of your eyes, and you stare. This...is really awkward. How...how the heck did you break down in front of a customer, much less a potential stalker?

 

No. No… he couldn’t be a stalker. Not after this. If he was, then he would have taken you to wherever he lived. But here you are, right by the store’s doors. In public. 

 

This just confused you even more. 

 

“I...I’m sorry.” You run your fingers through your thick hair, trying not to let your thoughts consume you. It’s making your body grow sickly cold. “I don’t know what’s gotten into me. I really appreciate you helping me…” 

 

You mean it.

 

Sans gives you this smile, a bit more genuine than the usual smiles he always seems to have, “hey, don’t beat yourself up about it, sweetheart.”

 

It doesn’t convince you not to. Sans noticed, and he reaches out and pokes your cheek. That sudden action made you sit up and stare at him in confusion.

 

“i have a bro. coolest guy i know,” Sans smiles fondly, thinking of Papyrus. Paps is definitely at home packing things and taping them up for the move. “the guy will offer spaghetti to anyone if they’re hungry. he’s the best.”

 

Hearing Sans talk fondly of his brother made you calm down more. The way Sans spoke so kindly of this brother of his made you feel a bit jealous that you’re not as close to the cousin the same age as you. “It must be nice to have such a kind brother,” you say, and Sans nods in agreement.

 

“he’s the best,” Sans said quite proudly. He takes a moment to let his thoughts sink in. “well, you’d never guess that sometimes, when he tries to make friends, he gets...a little discouraged when his efforts don’t work. so i’d calm him down.”

 

So that’s why he knew how to help you through your own little attack. 

 

“You’re a good brother.”

 

Sans fell silent at your words, but you saw the tiniest of nods. 

 

For the umpteenth time, silence enshrouds the both of you. You lace your fingers together, focusing your gaze into the ground. It’s fine. It’s fine. He’s not… he’s not bad….

 

Sans spots that intense stare you’re giving the ground, and he almost hit himself for being jealous of the ground. Still, he needs to take advantage of the situation right now if he wants to become more than just some ‘stalkerish customer’.

 

“i’m sorry that I approached you like that at the bus stop the other night,” Sans immediately brought up, and without missing a beat, you lift your head and look over at him. You looked incredibly confused that he’s bringing that up all of a sudden. 

 

He’s desperate, and he hoped you didn’t notice that.

 

“you’re so nice to monsters like us.” He’d rather you be nice to only him and his brother. “there’s always those cruel humans who walk around at night looking to...you know.”

 

You knew exactly what he’s talking about.

 

Sans felt excited. You clung to every word he’s saying, and he knew you’re buying it.

 

“i was about to go home after buying my stuff and i saw you leaving, and i thought i saw someone follow you to the bus stop, so i followed too. shoulda told the cops or something, but i wasn’t sure if they were followin’ you or not.”

 

_ Sans remembered you walking down the sidewalk, your finger on the bright screen of your phone. He followed you from a safe distance, hiding in the shadows as best as he could.  _

 

“i think they noticed me followin’ them, so they left, and when they did, you saw me.”

 

_ Those gorgeous eyes on him. It felt so good. He wanted to shove you against the bus stop bench and take you from behind. How long would it take for the bus to get there? Five minutes? He’d tease you, take advantage of the fact that he’d be making love to you in public at night. _

 

_ You would gasp and moan in embarrassed delight, begging him to stop.  _

 

_ He wouldn’t, not unless he heard footsteps or spot the bus turning onto the street. He’d immediately teleport the both of you to his room and continue where he left off and fuck you senselessly - _

 

Sans felt heat return to his pelvis area, and he willed himself not to lose control right there and then. “y-you saw me and i panicked. i, erm...wanted to talk to you and, uh… well, judging you from what you said, i didn’t approach you the right way.”

 

“Right…”

 

“i felt real bad. probably spooked the bus driver, too. musta rattled his bones, don’t ya think?” Sans winks and you crack another small smile.

 

“Pfft… was that supposed to be a joke?”

 

“yeeeeeaup.”

 

“That’s so bad…!”

 

“but you’re smiling.”

 

You are. That small smile grew into a grin. Sans grin as well, a growing discoloration of blue dusting his cheekbones. There it is, that beautiful smile that only his human seem to have. 

 

You breathe in deeply, finding yourself a bit calmer as you let that breath out. Just a while ago, you were okay with having a panic attack alone at home. Now, for some reason, you’re just thankful that Sans is here helping you. 

 

This somewhat socially awkward, pun-loving skeleton dork doesn’t seem as creepy as he used to seem. Though he’s still kinda creepy. 

 

“Thanks. I really appreciate what you did for me.”

 

There it is. 

 

Sans couldn’t help but notice your calm demeanor and relaxed shoulders. Definitely a big improvement from how you acted back at the table. He really wanted to hold you in his arms, but he’s not there yet. 

 

Tonight. When you fall asleep, he’ll hold you all night.

 

Sans couldn’t wait as he walked you to the bus stop. The conversation being held between the two of you were random and never stuck to one topic, and he couldn’t help but beam when he watched you wave to him as you stepped onto the bus. The bus driver, the same one from that night, looked at the two of you in confusion, but he didn’t say a word.

 

Good.

 

The doors closed and the bus drove off, and Sans sighed in contentment. 

 

…

 

“I forgot her number.”

 

.

.

.

 

It’s late that night as you angrily pressed the ‘end call’ button on your cell phone. Your mother’s cries cut off from your phone speaker and you immediately turn the thing off. The conversation didn’t go well at all, and she didn’t seem to care that she got you in trouble at work.

 

Actually, she used that as some excuse for you to come home immediately.

 

You had screamed at her that you’re not a child anymore before hanging up on her. 

 

Calm down. It’s fine. Call her tomorrow. You let out an exasperated groan as you get out of bed and go to your very small kitchen. The electric kettle’s light is on, meaning you have hot water for your cup ramen now. 

 

You keep reminding yourself that Mom’s only this overprotective of you because technically, you’re all she has family-wise.

 

You keep reminding yourself, but it’s hard to excuse her behavior at times.

 

Hot water is poured into the cup ramen, and you pull the lid back over the steaming cup to trap in the heat. The TV’s turned on, and go on Netflix to watch some of Gabriel Iglesias’s standup comedy videos. You wished they had more than two or three available to watch.

 

Still, you laugh away the rest of the evening, slurping up your noodles and chugging down some water. It’s a nice distraction. 

 

Eventually, the cup is empty and the show is over, so now you’re just cleaning up your table and throwing away your trash. The trash can is overflowing with junk, but you just tell yourself you’ll throw it out tomorrow. 

 

Tomorrow. Tomorrow’s another day. Another day of figuring out what to do about, well, everything.

 

At least the issue with your not-really-a-stalker-customer is taken care of. You owe him more than just a simple apology. Perhaps the next time you see him, you’ll bake him some brownies or muffins. 

 

You crawl into bed, snuggling against your pillow. It’s probably a bit early, and you check the alarm clock. A little after ten. Yeah, that’s pretty early. You usually schedule yourself to sleep around eleven. In comes the pill, and you swallow it down after an entire glass of water. 

 

To kill time, you reach under your bed and dug through a mess before managing to find your novel that’s wedged between a bunch of magazines and blank journals. Just a bit of light reading. You tuck Bulbasaur under your arm and begin your book.

 

Before you knew it, you’re sucked into nearly an hour of reading, and even though your eyes are exhausted, you’re telling yourself you’ll stop when you reach the next chapter. Just a few more pages -

 

Your head hits the pillow, fingers loosening around the book. Whoops. Maybe not. You fell right asleep. 

 

The book is taken away from your fingers, and Sans closes it. He gives the book cover a glance before placing it on your nightstand. 

 

Sans just takes it all in. The sight of your slumbering form, your peaceful sleeping face, and how inviting your soft body is, just waiting to be held.

 

He couldn’t help it anymore.

 

Touching the tip of your head, he instantly teleports the both of you onto his bed and he holds you tenderly. 

 

You’ll be okay. You’ll be fine. Everything will be just fine. Sans promised. 

 

His hand slips under your shirt, reveling in the smoothness of your skin. Nice. Delicious. Soft… Smells good. 

 

His beloved human always smells so wonderful. 

 

_ mine…  _

 

_ mine mine mine… _

 

Always.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Er...Hello, everyone. It's MissReaperDeath. I have some good news, bad news, and worse news.
> 
> The good news is, well, we got another update pretty quickly. Yay!
> 
> Bad news, I'm updating this a little after one in the morning. I called it. 
> 
> Worse news, I got into a really bad car accident a few days ago. My car is wrecked. I can't even open the door to get into my driver's seat. Not to mention I can't even turn it on. But I'm fine. My dominant hand is just sprained, thank the lord.
> 
> So updates might take a while. It's not a hiatus. I just need to get my situation sorted. Wait for me, my lovely readers. I will be back. I just need some time.
> 
> Leave a comment. Give me kudos. Come see me on my tumblr!
> 
>  
> 
> [RabelleRabbit](https://rabellerabbit.tumblr.com/)
> 
>  
> 
> Say hello to me! Request fanart! I can draw. Well, not right now... but still! Ask questions! I'm lonely!


	5. Moving On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a long time. You had hoped old feelings wouldn't be dragged in as the root of your problems back at home, but it seems like your friends refuse to acknowledge that you left because you wanted to leave.
> 
> It sucks, but it seems like in order to move on, you're going to have to let go and actually move forward.
> 
> Just as you come to that conclusion, a certain skeleton regular from the store you work at asks you on what seems to be a date. Or a friendly hangout to become actual friends. 
> 
> You're not sure.
> 
> Is it?

For the past week of inviting himself over into your apartment at night and teleporting your slumbering form into his bed, Sans made himself comfortable by spooning you and looking through your phone. 

 

He did this every night, because your phone is like a puzzle. In order to find out more and more about you, he needed to figure out certain hurdles that this phone contained.

 

You have a pass code on your phone, and it took him exactly two days of watching from afar to figure it out after seeing you enter a few numbers. 

 

091515.

 

On the third day of snuggling up against you, he’s spending the rest of the night browsing through your phone and letting his mind consume everything that he finds. 

 

Reading through your texts always fascinates him once he finally got past his jealousy with how many people you have in your contact list. When looking through your conversations with these people, many of them held quite a deal of information about you and for passwords that were set up in this phone.

 

_ His rage would build up when he read through the conversation thread between you and Daniel.  _

 

_ He wanted that slimey bastard to back off. It’s so painfully obvious in all these texts that Daniel had been flirting with you, and stars, it annoys him that you’ll just skirt around his little requests of hanging out after work to the movies or some diner. It PISSES him off that you still talk to him. _

 

_ DO YOU LIKE HIM?? _

 

_ DO YOU FIND DANIEL’S ADVANCES UNCOMFORTABLE? _

 

_ TELL HIM TO FUCK OFF ALREADY!! _

 

Sans froze when he realized he was digging his phalanges so tightly into his bedsheets, they nearly ripped open. 

 

To calm himself down, he goes to check out your gallery. He gets his phone out, readying the Bluetooth in case he finds any photos he likes.

 

(He’ll most likely want every photo you’re in.)

 

...An odd thing did show up. You have a passcode on your gallery app. That was quite odd, in his opinion. But as he said before, reading through your many conversations in your messaging app gave Sans enough hints to figure out what it could be. 

 

In one of the conversations, you wrote to a friend named Alex that many of your passwords were based on birthdays of your loved ones. 

 

On your calendar, you have around two dates saved. Mom. Eli’s. It surprised Sans that you had all these names in your contact list, but only one friend seems to get the special treatment.

 

The passcode requires at least six numbers. He only has four, which meant he needed the year for either your Mom’s birthday or Eli’s birthday.

 

He scoured both conversation thread but barely found anything in Mom’s conversation, except for suffocating messages from her demanding you to come home. Sans felt his arms tighten around you when he read those words. 

 

_ No luck _ , Sans sighs as he gets the little stylus and presses on Eli’s conversation. He would read, and he spots a selfie from you. He couldn’t help but admire how lovely you are.  

 

It took half an hour to read this entire log of messages, and the more he read, a tiny bit of jealousy would seep into his stomach and mind. You and Eli are close friends.

 

_ The way you text Eli until recently was different than the way you texted others. You sounded sweet and encouraging. At least until a few months ago. When Eli got married. _

 

_ All he could stand to read was a message with Eli asking you if you’d be coming back to celebrate her twenty-second birthday with her. _

 

Sans felt this ugly feeling of jealousy growing up inside of him with thoughts of what that had meant, but as soon as he punched in the birthdate (he made an educated guess of subtracting twenty-two years from the current year) of Eli’s into the passcode screen, it nearly disappeared when he saw your face grinning and making the peace sign from one of the folders.  

 

_ He guessed correctly. _

 

The gallery gave him an endless supply of selfies by yourself and with other people, or photos of different types of flowers snapped in different directions. There was one where you had a soft serve ice cream in hand, a look of skepticism with some guy chugging away from a red cup in the background. There’s another one where you’re holding the phone away from you as possible to get as many grinning faces into the photo as you could. 

 

_ He Bluetooth's every photo from your phone to his. Every single one of them that had you in it. _

 

Sans wondered how soon it would take to have you ask him to lean down a bit to take a photo with him.

 

_ He could imagine you getting the camera ready, holding it out and hanging on his arm. Sans would snort, leaning down with his head near yours, and as you’re about to take the photo, you’d surprise smooch him. _

 

_ And he would be smitten. _

 

_ “You’re such a dork,” you laugh as you look at the photo, showing it to him. He’d make it his lockscreen AND his background on his own phone.  _ __   
  


_ “heh... love ya, pumpkin.” _

 

Sans found himself tapping his teeth against the back of your head very gently. 

 

He’d spend an hour just embracing your warmth before he’s ready to look through your phone again. A quick glance through the email app showed Sans plenty of evidence that his precious human is on the hunt for a better job and a more decent apartment. All he could do was muffle a snort before leaving another loving kiss on his human’s head.

 

_ There’s no need for that. You can just move in with him and his brother to the house they were looking into.   _

 

When morning came, he’d force himself to leave to go home and catch some sleep before going to his morning job. 

 

It got harder to leave with each passing night. 

It’s Monday night when he comes back to your apartment. He teleports in and sees on that small table of yours an empty Chinese container of what smelled to be beef and broccoli.

 

_ fast food again, huh, pumpkin?  _ Sans thought as he checked the fridge. It’s a bit empty, and Sans made a mental note to bring something for you. He refuses to let his human starve.

 

Which reminds him, you haven’t been at the store since that day he first saw you. 

 

Sans made his way over, taking notice of how there’s a pile of dirty laundry piling up in the corner. There’s a bag of cheap noodle packets stuffed in a bag under your bed. You’re wearing a thin shirt and pajama pants, curled into a blanket. Sans, as usual, reaches out and lays his fingers against your soft hair while grabbing your phone with his other hand.

 

_ Is somethin’ the matter? You can tell me, pumpkin. _

 

It’s the usual song and dance. He teleports you to his bed, and you lay there, fast asleep. It still surprises him of how much of a deep sleeper you are. He would get ready for bed, sliding off his jacket and sneakers. Climbing in and nuzzling against you, he slips out your phone and notices that there’s a new series of text between that  _ Daniel  _ and Sabrina. 

 

The texts were short between you and Daniel. You were apologizing to him for not hanging out with him two days ago. Sans felt himself begin to growl when Daniel began to write all these messages saying that you and him can always hang out some other time. 

 

**We can go out tomorrow. My treat - Daniel**

 

You didn’t write a response back. Sans wanted to respond for you so badly. To tell him to back off. 

 

But he didn’t want to leave any evidence of him snooping through your phone. Instead, he promised himself that he’ll deal with that despicable human for you.

 

_ You’re too nice. Much too nice. But that’s okay. Sans is willing to be  _ **cruel** _ to others when you don’t find the strength to do it yourself. _

 

Sans makes sure to keep a copy of Daniel’s number in his phone. 

 

For the rest of the night, Sans reads through Sabrina’s chat log and finding out that you’re meeting up with her tomorrow for breakfast. It’s at a diner not too far from where his morning job is at. He feels excitement well up in his SOUL, wondering how early he could take a break and go find you when you’re done with this hangout. 

 

You have so many apps on your phone that he needs to look through. You have Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter… There is so much he needs to look through, but he’s already spent way too much time focusing on your phone instead of you.

 

Yes. 

 

You.

 

Sans runs his phalanges through your hair, focusing on how your body presses up against his bones. He wants to kiss you and hold you tighter. He wants to see your beautiful eyes looking into his. He wants those lips to curve into a smile and whisper. 

 

There are so many things he wants to do with you. 

 

Sans pulls away, and ever so gently, he rolls you onto your back. There you are, hair sprawled out and eyes closed in that deep slumber. His precious Sleeping Beauty. 

 

Slowly, he lowers his head, pressing his teeth against your cheek. Soft. Plush. He leaves another kiss on your other cheek. 

 

He brushes any stray hair away from your face with his distal, taking in the sight of you.

 

San’s not sure how long he can stand doing this. Being silent. Being careful. Staying still. 

 

There are so many things he wants to do with you.

 

There are so many things he wants to do to you.

 

Tomorrow. 

 

It’s been long enough. He doesn’t know how long he can hold himself back. 

 

Tomorrow he’ll find you during his break and… hopefully be able to insert himself as something more to you. Maybe a friend? Hopefully a boyfriend. Definitely a boyfriend.

 

Or even better, a bonefriend.

 

Sans couldn’t help but laugh, before leaning in to bury his face into your clavicle, inhaling your scent. 

 

You smell of lotion and chamomile. 

.

.

.

 

Of all the days you’d sleep in, it had to be today.

 

You tumble into the diner, immediately spotting Sabrina in one of the booths with a white mug in her hand. Taking a moment to check your phone, you inwardly groan at the clock mocking you with the fact that you’re an hour late. 

 

A defeated soldier, you march towards the booth and slump into it. Sabrina sets the mug down, her green eyes glaring into you.

 

“You’re one hour late.”

 

“I know.”   
  
“There’s only so much coffee I can drink. I already ordered something twenty minutes ago,” Sabrina narrowed her eyes as you shrink back. As if on cue, a waitress with a cute curly ponytail came around and set a plate of eggs and toast in front of Sabrina. “Thank you,” Sabrina sweetly smiles as the waitress grins back and hands you a menu.

 

“Can I start you with anything?” The waitress asks as she whips out that notepad to write down your order. 

 

“A glass of water, please,” you give the menu a quick glance over before handing the menu right back to her, “some pancakes, that’s all.”

 

The waitress writes down and gives you a bright smile, leaving you to face the demon sitting across from you.

 

Sabrina is a straight face, glasses wearing lawyer student, with a finer taste in life and - of course, she would pick an expensive breakfast cafe all the way across town. You nearly ran here by foot when you miss the bus. 

 

You would have gladly slammed that fact in her face, but judging by Sabrina’s narrowing eyes, she would definitely not care at all.

 

Slipping off your backpack as Sabrina picked up her fork and knife, you give her this glare of your own as you unbuckle the straps. You unzipped it and opened the backpack up, literally shoving your hand in there as you kept your gaze locked with Sabrina’s.

 

There’s literally only one way to appease this bitchy nerd.

 

As dramatically as you could muster yourself to be, you whip your hand out with your fingers grasped around the little pharmacy packet of printed photographs. 

 

Sabrina arches an eyebrow. You merely waggle yours, despite the growing distaste building in the back of your mouth.

 

Without a word, you nearly slam your hand onto the table, before stopping yourself and delicately set the packet on the table. With a gentle pat to the inanimate object, you suddenly flip it towards Sabrina with as much strength you can muster. It flies up and falls down in front of her plate.

  
Not as dramatic as you’d hope. You were expecting it to have landed on the floor or hit her in the face.

 

“I swear you are the weirdest, most boring and depressing creature in the entire world,” Sabrina rolls her eyes as she grabs for the photograph packet and opens it to collect what she had been looking forward to the most. Wedding photos. 

 

“You have the personality of a soggy cardboard. I don’t want to hear you complaining about me being boring and depressing,” you snap as Sabrina rolls her eyes at you. She doesn’t really say anything after that. You steal a sip of her coffee, “I also accept the word weird as a compliment. Try insulting me again after another year of studying.”

 

“Says the girl who dropped out of college,” Sabrina sips at her coffee and you grab your fork, pointing it at her while making a few stabbing motions. You stab it into her toast and leave it there.

 

“The toast died because of you, and you don’t care, because you’re a bitch,” you sit back and cross your arms, glaring at her. The angry stares don’t last long when the waitress comes around with a stack of pancakes and those glass containers of maple syrup.

 

As you eat, Sabrina goes through the glossy photographs. Every now and then, you’ll see a small smile grow on her face. She probably has some stuff to say, but she’s keeping them to herself for now.

 

Eventually, as you get through half of your stack of pancakes, Sabrina lets out a sigh as she picks up a particular photo. It’s Eli in her beautiful white wedding dress. Next to Eli is you, sporting that superb midnight blue dress you spent hours picking out with the other bridesmaids.

 

Sabrina waits for you to say something, and you’re the one who rolled your eyes this time.

 

“I had to pick out the prettiest dress. I was the maid of honor. The best woman. Yadda, yadda, yadda…” You trail off before resuming your job of eating those fluffy pancakes. “My mom made a big deal out of how she wanted me to have a long dress like Eli. God, it annoyed me how much she was trying to control it. And what for? It’s not even her wedding. It’s not even mine. It’s Eli’s.”

 

“That makes me feel less bad for missing it,” Sabrina honestly muses, but that smile keeps coming back, “but wow, I am surprised you look good all dressed up. Usually, you look like garbage.”

 

Good old Sabrina. 

 

“Your toast is getting cold.”

 

“It probably has rigor mortis by now.”

 

You hold back a snort, finishing up another bite of those sweet, fluffy discs. You set your fork down, looking up at Sabrina. She’s already looking right at you. Here come the questions, you can just feel the cringe coming on.

 

“She called me last night about you,” Sabrina says as you hold back the need to just roll your eyes. Great. “Eli’s worried about you.”

 

“First my mom, and now Eli. Can we not talk about it? I seriously want you to be the only person I can trust to not nag at me, even if we don’t get along half the time,” you grumble as your appetite disappears, along with what’s left of your patience.

 

_ Let me live my life. _

 

Sabrina readjusts her glasses, giving you this hard look. “I did not take a four-hour drive just to get brushed off, (Y/N).”

 

“How about just to visit?” You ask bitterly as you push the plate of half-eaten pancakes away. What a waste of six dollars. “No one wants to visit just to see me. It’s always to criticize and -”

 

“You’re twenty-two, coming along to twenty-three, with a dead end job and hundreds of miles away from your family-”

 

Forget this.

 

You get up and leave straight to the register, pulling your wallet out. You pull out a ten dollar bill, handing it to the confused waitress before grabbing your backpack and hurrying out the diner. She can keep the photos. You’re just angry and tired and - 

 

Hearing heels clacking against the sidewalk, you don’t need to glance back to know Sabrina’s following after you.

 

So you just keep walking as Sabrina calls after you. You can just imagine it, Sabrina trying her best to chase after you in those heels that make her look so  _ professional  _ while struggling to shove those stupid photos in her expensive clutch that isn’t big enough to hold them.

 

You just shove your hands into your pocket and make way to the direction of the city park. You were planning to come here after the dinner to just sit around and think. 

 

Think about how much life can suck at the moment.

 

.

.

.

 

Sans didn’t say a word as a human left with a hot dog, taking quick bites at it. Sans leaned against the stand, tapping the tips of his phalanges against the surface.

 

That’s the seventh hot dog he’s sold so far in the morning. It’s almost funny to him that both monsters and humans like to have hot dogs for breakfast. Almost. But he shouldn’t laugh, or the humans nearby would probably think he did something to the wieners and call the park police.

 

That’s happened about four times this month.

 

Thankfully, he’s not going to be here for long. Soon, it’s going to be a nice house in the suburbs with his brother and human -

 

“(Y/N)! (Y/N)!”

 

At hearing that name, Sans glanced over and he swore he felt his SOUL skip around in affection when he sees you walking away from some professionally dressed lady. Is that human bothering you? Sans is already making his way around the hot dog stand and coming right over.

 

“- Leave me alone -”

 

“- a college drop out -”

 

“Shut up -”

 

“All because of a crush-?”

 

“It’s not like that!”

 

He barely hears the conversation as he watches the unknown lady shoving photographs into her purse. In her messy shoving, a photograph slips out of the bag and immediately he swipes it away with his magic. It’s in his hand and his red eye light nearly glows brightly when he spots you all dolled up in the photo.

 

You look so beautiful.

 

“I’m not here because of that!” You whip around and face the person following you. It’s really, really stupid that everyone thinks you’re here because of such a stupid reason. Are you  _ really  _ that emotionally weak to everyone? “I already had plans to move out years ago. Is it really hard to believe that I just wanted to make it on my own?”

 

Despite the glaring contest you and this human are in, somehow Sans caught your eye, and you look so surprised to see him. Sans gave a wink, finding himself a bit flattered that your eyes are on him. 

 

Finally, his treasured human isn’t looking at him in fear.

  
Sans tuck the photo into his jacket as his gaze left yours, landing on the annoyance wearing glasses. He moseyed on up to the both of you, already with the intentions of prying you away. Whoever this person is...friend? Stranger? Possible date mate? He doesn’t care.

 

You’re his.

 

“heya.” 

 

Sans saw the woman with glasses glance back at him and nearly sputtered out this hideous gasp, looking at him wide-eyed. Almost on cue, you - the angel Sans knows you are - give this person an immediate distasteful remark on their reaction.

 

“Are you kidding me, Sabrina?”

 

_ That’s a familiar name _ , Sans thought as he takes in this person from your contact list. She looks stuck up and rude. Just like the way that she texts.

 

Sabrina’s eyes dart to your direction and she straightens herself up, trying to recompose herself. She opens her mouth, but you walk past her and go straight to him.

 

He felt his SOUL thump around in his ribcage. If he wasn’t at work, he would have snatched your hand and steal you away. No, not yet. He barely got you to trust him to a certain extent.

 

“Don’t worry, she had the exact same reaction when she first saw me,” you try to joke and honestly, he didn’t really care about this Sabrina person. He felt so happy to know you had a sense of humor.

 

He also felt this intense need to strangle Sabrina as well. 

 

Sabrina lets out this offended gasp. She takes a moment to calm down before crossing her arms, “honestly, can I be frank with you, (Y/N)?”

 

“how can you be frank, if you’re sabrina?” Sans asked as he winked at your direction, hoping to replace that frown with a grin. 

 

Sabrina looks completely annoyed at his joke while it takes a few seconds before you raise a hand over your mouth, failing to hide your grin.

 

“That’s actually a pretty good one.”

 

“(Y/N)!!” Sabrina snaps and you look one hundred and ten percent done with this girl.

 

“I don’t want to talk anymore.”

 

Sabrina opens her mouth to retort something annoying but actually snaps her mouth shut and backs away when Sans steps up to stand right behind you. Her eyes are on him, and she does look rather intimidated. 

 

“she says she doesn’t want to talk anymore,” Sans slowly repeats. You glance over at him, looking rather surprised. 

 

You’re even more surprised as Sabrina backs off. Sabrina lets out this tired sigh, rubbing her temple before pulling out her phone. 

 

“If you want to talk like adults, then I’ll be here until tomorrow morning. My phone’s always with me, so give me a call.” Sabrina gives Sans this glare before she leaves them. Sans glares at her retreating form, slowly leaving out of sight and into some car that drove off. It had a Lyft sticker. 

 

Once that menace was out of the area, Sans turned his attention onto you. You didn’t really say anything, but you did take a few steps to sit down on the bench right by the hot dog stand. You slide off your backpack and set it next to you.

 

You’re exhausted. You needed to take a moment to just compose yourself before you even try to do anything else. You’re just trying to make it day by day. These people that call themselves your friends are just making your life harder than it should be just so you can run back.

 

What makes it worse is that they’re half right. You refuse to admit it to their faces, though.

 

After a minute of breathing, you try to push away the cold sensation prickling your stomach. The anxiety pin pricking you in the back of your mind stays as you open your eyes and find Sans staring at you.

 

He looks worried.

 

“I’m fine!” You quickly reassured him. You didn’t want him thinking you were about to have a second panic attack in front of him. “I’m fine, really. Thank you so much for stepping in earlier. It’s really hard for me to get through my old...colleague on my own.” 

 

You really can’t consider Sabrina a friend anymore.

 

Sans doesn’t say anything other than shoving his hands into the pocket of his jacket. He spends about a minute, wondering what to ask. He wanted to ask about what you and that menace were arguing about. He wanted to ask if you were actually going to talk to her later. He wanted so bad to ask you for your number.

 

Sans wanted to ask so many things, but that freaking human ruined your mood with that whole fiasco. If he ever saw her again before she had to leave, he swore he would strangle her into the ground. For ruining your day. For ruining what he had planned for the day. For ruining his day.

 

Sans looked back at you, seeing your eyes on him. Ah, right, you’re waiting for him to respond. He glanced over to the hot dog stand and then looked right back at you.

 

“you want a ‘dog?”

 

“A ...hot dog?” You asked, looking up at him with a confused look. Or is he offering you a literal dog? Judging from how he had glanced at the hot dog stand, you’re not going to get to pet a little doggy today.

 

“no, no, no. an apostrophe dog. it’s short for hot dog,” Sans explain as he’s already going around the stand to make the ‘dogs. You realize he must work here. 

 

“Then why not call it a hot dog?”

 

“heh, you humans sure are technical about stuff. one ‘dog comin’ right up,” Sans winked as you glance to the little sign. You’re already reaching into your backpack for your wallet. Sans noticed, “it’s on me.”

 

“Then this is on me. Well, for you,” you say as you pull out a five dollar bill and get up to put it into the empty tip jar. Sans seemed surprised, but he still puts together a ‘dog and hands it to you. “Thanks.”

 

Sans watched you sit down at the bench again and proceed to take small bites from the ‘dog. He reaches down to grab the ‘on break’ sign before putting together a ‘dog for himself and walked over to take a seat next to you. 

 

When you took your backpack and set it down on the ground and scooted aside to make room for him, Sans felt this sense of fulfillment. As he sat down, he noticed you were almost done with your ‘dog. You reach into your backpack and pull out a water bottle. You take a swig and noticed Sans staring at your direction. 

 

“There aren’t any drinks at your hot dog stand? You can have the rest then,” you offer as you hold the water bottle out. He gave you a free hot dog, after all, so offering something to drink is alright, right…? 

 

Sans stares at you, and you wonder if he’s okay. Honestly, you’re unsure of what to think of him actually. Before you can even continue your thoughts, you see him reach for the water bottle.

 

“thanks.”

 

Sans wanted to grab your wrist and pull you into a hug, but he refrained himself to just grabbing the bottle. Sharing food with each other is just… You like him, right? You like him enough to share water with him - 

 

No, no. It’s different up here. Food is readily available. You offering water to him might not have meant anything to you, but -

 

Even sharing water back in the underground meant something. Sans nearly found himself reaching towards his eye socket when memories threaten to resurface. Memories he both found himself remembering certain events clearly, but at the same time, he had trouble remembering anything in between.

 

Sans nearly devours his ‘dog, uncapping the bottle of water. He savored every sip as he watched you finish the last of your ‘dog. He terribly wanted to ask if you needed another one. The aching hunger in the pit of his belly begs for another one, but he’s only limited to two free hot dogs during his shift.

 

It’s never enough.

 

There’s never enough to eat. Even if he eats until he pukes, it’s never enough. That pinching feeling he’s learned to ignore never goes away. 

 

You gave him a tip earlier. He can use that and whatever’s in his wallet to pay for more to eat. Would you want another hot dog? He just wants to make sure you’re fed. Your bare fridge and constant snacking wrecks him with the nervous suspicion that you’re not eating well.

 

Sans takes one glance at you, and he forgets about that ‘dog waiting for the both of you at the stand. You have this faraway look, staring at the tip of your shoes. Was it about what that Sabrina girl said?

 

His phalanges twitch in irritation, curling into the metacarpals. He imagined them curling around Sabrina’s neck, squeezing the life out of her. 

  
Sans takes a breath.  

 

“do ya wanna talk about it?” He knows you’re bothered by Sabrina, and he would have loved to go and chase her down and make sure she never bothers you again, but… he needs to be good. He needs to be good in front of you. He wants to be good to you. 

 

“Not...really.” It’s pathetic enough to even think about sharing your thoughts with an acquaintance. Isn’t this sort of thing supposed to be reserved for friends? You crumple the little paper the ‘dog came in with your hand. 

 

Do you...even have any real friends to rely on? Maybe Daniel? But he has a girlfriend, and you wouldn’t want Natasha to be jealous. 

 

As that depressing thought crept into your mind, you immediately chucked it away. You’re fine. You’ll be fine. You can get through this. Maybe it’s time to make better friends.

 

“Thanks for the hot - I mean, ‘dog,” you smile at him before reaching down to grab your backpack. 

 

Wait, Sans felt a bit confused. Are you leaving? It’s when you get up that he realizes that you’re already leaving. And he fought against himself from trying to grab your hand. That’ll scare you away. He can’t have that. Not again.

 

Today’s a bad day because of that stupid human, but he’s not going to let that stop him from getting close to you like he planned. He’s waited long enough.

 

So he went for it as you’re about to tell him goodbye. 

 

“hey, do ya wanna do something tomorrow?” Sans says as you opened your own mouth to tell him goodbye.

 

He did it.  

 

Tomorrow. If you say yes to tomorrow, then you’ll turn down Daniel and come to see him instead. Sans felt himself grow anxious, and this time he’s the one staring at the ground. 

 

He wants to look at you, to see you think about it. Do you look nervous? Is your nose wrinkling in annoyance? Or are you already busy with something else?

 

_ Say yes. Please say yes. _

 

_ He’s not sure if he can stand all this waiting. He’s trying so hard to be good, (Y/N). _

 

You’re at a loss for words on your part. 

 

Is… he …? No, no, no. There’s no way he means it like that. You’re already slipping out your phone to check your messages. You see three new messages from Daniel. You look past your phone, staring at Sans. He’s staring at the ground, and… is he nervous?

 

Oh…

 

Then, he really did mean it like that, right?

 

You take a moment to think about it. You’re not like one of those oblivious characters that are unaware of other people’s feelings for them. You like to think you’re aware of some sort of extent. Like how this skeleton regular from the store is basically asking you out.

 

...Maybe he means for it to be a platonic hangout between two people officially becoming friends.

 

Okay, perhaps you aren’t that sure. Or maybe you are. 

 

“Tomorrow…?” You repeat, and you probably sound like an idiot. Tomorrow is… oh right, Daniel asked you to hang out with him tomorrow. He’s still waiting for a response, and you can’t even count how many times you told him no or avoided his advances.

 

You don’t hate Daniel, but you’re not friends with him out of pity either. You’re friends with him because, in the beginning, you both had been college dropouts working to make ends meet at a grocery store. It felt great to have someone who experienced the same thing. Once upon a time, you played with the thought that perhaps you could move on to something more. And then he met Natasha, and they instantly clicked. 

 

For some reason, Natasha didn’t like you or Daniel talking outside of work. She didn’t hate you, she just had trust issues because of her past relationships. She would hold her tongue, smiling at you whenever she has time to tag along on your hang outs. And you felt bad for her, so you tried to keep your time with him at just work as much as you could, but sometimes Daniel would want to go out with his fellow dropout to the park or to the mall.

 

Sometimes, seeing Natasha being quiet about her jealousy reminded you of yourself. It hurts. You don’t want her to be jealous of anything, because you’re not interested in ruining relationships.

  
Or be involved in one.

 

Now there’s Sans, and you’re not really sure what to do.

 

**He followed you to the bus stop. It truly did frighten you.**

 

_ But he did it to protect you from the person who was following you that night. _

 

**He showed up at the store when you were having lunch. You swore he was watching you from afar before approaching you.**

_   
_ _ But you were eating with his friends. He might have approached the table for the sake of talking to them instead of following you. _

 

**He showed up outside of the manager’s office. You don’t know how he knew you were there. You swore he followed you.**

 

_ But he only wanted to talk and clear up the misunderstanding. And he helped you through your panic attack. It’s been a long time since someone’s ever bothered doing that for you. _

 

_ Sans is a good person _ , you remind yourself. He’s just odd. Things were different in the underground, you heard from the rumors. Only some of the things you nitpicked from those rumors you believed, of course. 

 

“I, uh….” 

 

You aren’t interested in dating. There are feelings that still remained from long ago that you’re still struggling to let go. You did not move two years ago to run away. You’re better than that, you hoped.

 

Now that you think about it, it’s been an incredibly long time since you last went on a date. 

 

Would it be a good decision to date when you aren’t interested in a relationship? It wouldn’t be fair to the person who wanted it in the first place.

 

It wouldn’t be fair to Sans if you took his feelings lightly. But then again, you’re still not sure if he even meant it was supposed to be some kind of date. You don’t want to make it awkward between you two if you were wrong.

 

“If you just want to hang out tomorrow, then... I’m free tomorrow,” you say to him as you hold your phone out towards him. Sans raises his skull up, looking at you. He’s surprised, and you feel bad for not responding quicker. “Give me your number.”

 

He took your phone with his shaking skeleton hand, pulling a stylus out from his pocket and tapping his phone number in there. His phone number saved, he hands it back to you and you shake your phone at him.

 

“I’ll text you tonight, okay?”

 

“i’ll, heh,” Sans couldn’t help the fact his smile was growing, “i’ll be waiting. don’t leave me  _ hanging _ .”

 

“Wow, so punny of you,” you smile as you wave to him, “bye, Sans. Thanks for the ‘dog.”

 

Sans watched you leave, and he couldn’t help but sink into the bench. He felt dazed. He felt happy. 

 

He felt hope. 

 

Getting up from the bench, he threw away the trash into the garbage bin in the hot dog stand before taking the little sign off. People came by, and unlike before, no one seemed interested in having a good ol’ ‘dog for a late breakfast. That’s fine by him. Sans hummed as he gets the tongs to reach in and check on the remaining hot dog wieners. 

 

It’s just this shift and tomorrow’s morning shift before his date with you -

 

Sans nearly broke the tongs when he realized that you pretty much thought it was just a regular friendly hang out and NOT a date. 

 

He’s not doing very well with you, is he?

 

Stars, if Papyrus found out what he was trying to do, his brother might force his dating manual onto him. Sans takes a moment to calm down. He’ll just clear up the misunderstanding tonight.

 

...when you text him.

 

Sans couldn’t concentrate for the rest of the day.

 

.

.

.

 

You caught the bus and found a seat. Home is just a few bus stops away, so you decide to text Daniel. It’s nothing too serious, you hoped as you texted him that you already made plans with someone tomorrow.

 

Hopefully, it’s something you don’t regret.

 

You said it to him yourself, right? It’s just hanging out. Not a date. If it were, wouldn’t Sans bother to say it was a date instead of something completely platonic?

 

…..

 

It’s a date, isn’t it?

 

You’re an idiot. You take a moment to take a breath. Goodness gracious, it’s been way too long since you’ve been in the dating game. feel stupid and ashamed of yourself for doubting your thoughts way too many times. You let out an exasperated huff and lean against the seat. 

 

....It's fine. Yeah, it's totally fine! You'll just ask Sans with a text message. That's so much easier than asking him face to face. 

 

Right! You sit up suddenly, probably getting some strange looks from the other bus riders, and turn your phone on. You tap in your passcode for the millionth time and go straight to your contact list. Sans had himself named "Skelepun" in your contact list. He probably wrote it in a hurry. Oddly fitting though, if you had to be honest with your self. 

 

In the middle of writing a text you had erased way too many times for Sans, you receive a message back from Daniel. You stop what you're doing, send a simple hello to Sans, before tapping on the notification box, and it brings you to the text conversation between you and Daniel, and the newest message Daniel had sent you is upsetting. 

 

You're not going to respond to that, and the second you got off the bus and went home, you locked your doors and kicked off your shoes before climbing into bed and curled into bed.  

 

You couldn't concentrate for the rest of the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUESS WHAT TIME I UPLOADED THIS CHAPTER! TWO IN THE MORNING, OF FREAKING COURSE.
> 
> Hi everyone, it's me. I'm back after nearly a month of recuperating. Though, don't be fooled by my return. I'll be gone again in a bit since I have nearly three weeks left of college before winter break. I am looking forward to it. I'm on a short Thanksgiving break from college at the moment, so I'm just trying to slip in a chapter before I go back. 
> 
> Looks like Sans asked the reader on a date? A hangout? A platonic outing? I'm not sure what to call it, but he finally did it. 
> 
> And it looks like we're getting closer to getting to the action everyone wants to see. Hold onto your hats, people. 
> 
>  
> 
> [RabelleRabbit](https://rabellerabbit.tumblr.com/)
> 
>  
> 
> Please leave a review! It's nice to read the comments while I'm on my computer slamming my forehead against the keyboard. It inspires me and keeps me from going crazy.


	6. Voided Existence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans always knew that he shouldn't have trusted that human near you.
> 
> You're much too nice. Sans loved and hated that about you.
> 
> He's willing to do this much for you.
> 
> Just hug him. Kiss him.
> 
> Tell him it's okay.
> 
> And he'll be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: So I edited this chapter heavily. Things are different, and I believe Horrortale Sans is more in character. And Daniel isn't a poopy head anymore.
> 
> As much as I wanted to keep the whole murder scene in, I just think that despite it all, Sans is still lazy in some way. A big thank you to melodyrider and Melodyofthesea78 for giving me better options to go for. You both are amazing. Thank you.
> 
> WARNING: Despite the murder scene being taken out, there are still scenes of violence and sexual content in this chapter. I would say, just skip the chapter, but this chapter has a ton of important information in it. I warned you, so read at your own discretion. I'll leave a summary at the end if you want. You've been warned.

It’s around one in the morning, and Sans found himself sitting in the alleyway behind the closed down burger joint he used to frequent when he first came to the surface with his brother and the rest of monster kind.

 

An old human man with a green SOUL ran the place. He welcomed everyone who stepped through those doors, human or monster.

 

He was opened to all, and unfortunately, other humans didn’t like that.

 

The burger joint owner was found dead somewhere in the city at the hands of anti-monster advocates.

 

It just reminded Sans of how cruel humans could be to monsters and their own kind.

 

To their own kind…

 

Sans reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out that half-empty bottle of ketchup he found in his human’s fridge. He shook it and swirled it, before popping the top off and taking a swig.

 

It’s sweet and a bit salty, with an aftertaste that he couldn’t decide if it’s sweet or sour. It’s not awful, nor is it really good. It’s a knockoff brand. It’s decent. Sans finished it off and threw it away in one of the nearby trash cans.

 

He checks the time on the phone that he borrowed from his human. It’s only been ten minutes since he last checked.  

 

Soon.

 

Sans is more than prepared to free you from that human. He just needs to wait a little longer. A little longer, and Daniel will be no more.

 

Just a little longer, and you’ll be his.

 

Soon.

 

The phone vibrates, and it’s from Daniel.

 

_He’s coming. Soon._

 

.

.

.

 

Earlier, at around eleven thirty tonight, he arrived at your apartment. A bit later than he usually comes, but he had to keep his nightly ritual of reading Papyrus his bedtime story. Two, to make up for missing their comfortable ritual the other day.

 

Sans covered his mouth with his sleeve, yawning as quietly as he could as he slowly made his way towards you and the bed.

 

The laundry is piled up in a basket with a cloth bag with laundry powder and fabric softener in it sitting next to it. The trash can that was once overflowing with trash and instant food packages had been emptied out.

 

You must have gotten around to starting on chores. The place looks a bit cleaner. He doesn’t have to step around to avoid tripping over anything.

 

Faithful to his routine, Sans reaches over and grabs your phone and turning it on to check if you had any new messages. As he did so, he reached out to take your hand, ready to warp you to his own room.

 

Before Sans could, he noticed a steady stream of messages popping up on the screen and it grabbed his attention immediately.

 

The skeleton stalker immediately pulled his stylus out to quickly navigate through your phone, and found himself immersed in a disgusting conversation that took place merely two hours ago.

 

**Daniel**

_Did Nat say sumthin to you?_

_I dont understend what I did wrong_

_I tried really hard when were together at work_

_To fix whatever problems we had betwen us_

_Just tell me._

 

**(Y/N)**

_I just said I had plans. There’s no need to frek out._

_*freak_

_I’m really sorry I canceled our plans yesterday. I just needed_

_to go home and calm down._

  


**Daniel**

_Tell me why you were cryin_

_Just tell me if Nat sad anythin_

 

_**(Y/N)** _

_It’s got nothing to do with her._

 

** Daniel **

_Ive known you longer than her_

_Im not stupid, i know she doesn’t like it when we hang out_

 

** (Y/N) **

_I’m going to say this one more time._

_Natasha never said anythin to me_

_*anything_

_She’s been awesome, but she has her issues_

_You both should really talk to each other._

_I just want to figure things out. I’ve got a lot on my mind._

_I’m going to sleep soon. Just spend some time with the gf_

_We’ll talk later._

_Good night_

.

.

 

The texts kept on going. Sans realized (Y/N) had put her phone on silent mode on her last response. The human named Daniel simply kept going.

.

.

 

** Daniel **

_You know what_

_I noticd you stopped wantin to hang out_

_So when we planned to go out I was reallly excitd_

_Then I c you leaving the store with that scary skelton and_

_do you know how worried I was when everyone was_

_looking at you two leaving the store_

_What did he do to you_

_(Y/N) sorry I never told you but i think he’s been watching you_

_Like i think he might have a thing for you_

_He never sit right with me_

_Where did you go with him? Did you hang out with him instead?_

_Or did he do somethin to you?_

_Answer me_

_Hello?_

_(Y/N)_

_Did that skeleton do somethin to you?_

 

 A pause.

 

**Daniel**

_Your my friend_

_Tell me the truthh_

_Do the right thing_

_Come to my place and we can talk_

_Natasha isnt home but she’ll be by later I’ll tell her your stayin the night-_

 

.

.

 

**Sans couldn’t read any more of what was sent.**

 

Sans lost it.

 

He knew it.

 

He NEVER knew that disgusting human kept a close eye on him. Oh, thank the stars he came just in time before you’d wake up to such awful slander.

 

Sans nearly kneeled down by your bedside, reaching out and brushing strands of your hair aside from your sleeping face. That beautiful face. He strokes your hair before gently leaving a pseudo kiss on your forehead.

 

That human needs to stay away. You belong with Sans, that’s it.

 

Both Sans and his human didn’t need any more stress. The world is completely unfair as it is.

 

Sans kept your phone as he stood up, taking care not to bump into anything. He’s irritated and p*ssed off. Tonight was supposed to be the usual cuddling. Sans needed it so badly, but how could he snuggle with the knowledge that Daniel is continuously sending messages in an effort to separate the two of you?

 

What kind of mate would Sans be if he didn’t handle this for you?

 

The phone vibrates, and he reaches into his pocket for his stylus. He denies the call and immediately goes to the messaging app to type a response.

 

** Daniel **

_Pick up the phone_

 

**(Y/N)**

_Sorry_

_Do you wanna meet up_

 

Sans felt like throwing up the spaghetti he had for dinner when Daniel sent an eager text asking to meet up **immediately**. Sans glances to you, and he exhales. Sans keeps it together and sends Daniel the address to that closed down burger joint.

 

With an estimation of what time Daniel might arrive there, he sends a sickenly sweet message of reassurance that he’ll help you with whatever you’re struggling with. Be it with his jealous girlfriend or this skeleton stalker.

  
Sans felt disgusted.

 

**This is to protect you.**

 

**This is to make sure that this human doesn’t get the chance to manipulate you.**

 

Sans repeatedly told himself that as he slowly slips your phone into his pocket. He rests both hands on either side of your head, lowering his own skull the best he can to give you a chaste pseudo kiss on your forehead.

 

_I’ll be right back_ , Sans thinks as he backs away and makes his way through a series of shortcuts to the meet up destination.

 

.

.

.

 

Another text message brings Sans to the present.

 

Daniel should be arriving soon, judging by how many messages of disgusting anticipation and excitement is coming from that sh*tty human.

 

Sans readjusts his position against the wall, his eyes glued to the phone screen and his hearing focused on any footsteps nearing the alleyway.

 

**He’s here.**

 

Sans slips the phone into his pocket.

 

A lone red eye light followed Daniel’s figure entering the dark alley. Daniel’s eyes were glued to his phone screen, his thumb tapping against the keyboard. Sans’s pocket vibrates, but he ignores it.

 

**He’s.**

 

**Here.**

 

“(Y/N)?” Daniel called out as he slowly made his way down the alley. There’s nothing but trash cans and junk here.

 

_Humans are so fragile._

 

Sans stood up from leaning against the wall, turning around and stepping out of the dark.

 

_Because they’re so fragile, it’s so easy to take them down._

 

It takes a moment, but the second Daniel spots him, Sans shortcuts right behind him. Wrapping his arm around Daniel’s neck, with his chin pointing towards Sans’s elbow, Sans quickly placed his hand on the back of the human’s head and gave a hard shove.

 

**Sans is going to kill him.**

 

**He wants to kill him.**

 

**From the very first time Sans saw him walking with (Y/N) near the produce section of the store, Sans had imagined the many ways to end Daniel’s life.**

 

Sans felt something pop and before Daniel could even react, Sans pulled his arm back before taking both his hands and twisted Daniel’s head as hard as he could. He twisted Daniel’s head upward at an angle, hearing the bones cracking and popping.

 

**But.**

 

Sans let go and shoved Daniel, watching him fall to the ground.

 

**That would bring Sans more trouble than he even cared to deal with.**

 

Sans could hear a croak leaving Daniel, the human’s cry muffled.

 

“i don’t usually break someone’s neck when they’re still alive, but y’know… i wanted ya to feel your neck breakin’ and crackin’ to make up for all the sh*t ya said to my human...”

 

There’s a terrified look in Daniel’s widened eyes. The human is trying to scream, but it comes out in staccato loud and painful gasps. Sans immediately spots Daniel trying to reach for his phone, and with a flick of his finger, Sans encased the pitiful human’s SOUL with his blue magic and lifted Daniel into the air.

 

The phone slipped out from Daniel’s twitching fingers, clattering against the ground. Sans stepped over to it and kicked it away.

 

**Killing a human on the surface is different than killing a human down in the underground. Up here, there’s always someone or something that will bring light to Daniel’s disappearance and put Sans’s chances to be with his human in jeopardy.**

 

**He couldn’t have that.**

 

The filthy human couldn’t move, and soon, he wouldn’t be able to breathe. Sans lets out a dry chuckle.

 

“you couldn’t take no for an answer, could ya? Ya could’ve stayed away and none o’ this woulda happen. EVER,” Sans took a moment to take in Daniel’s current state. A frightened, broken man with only muffled grunts and cries escaping him. Each one must have been painful.

 

Good.  

 

“you know, i was considerin’ killing ya. you’re just a thorn in my side. I wanted to feel your flesh grow cold and hear your heart beat grow slower an’ slower…”

 

Daniel’s writhing body floated towards Sans. The terror and pain contorts Daniel’s face. It’s hideous, almost laughable.

 

“that woulda been m e r c y . . .” Sans admitted. It would have been so easy to just have several sharp bones break free from Daniel’s chest, watching the fabric of the human’s shirt bloom a red color.

 

It would have been satisfying, but no. Sans had a better plan. A cleaner plan. Something that wouldn’t cost Sans hours and effort on his part. Something that would potentially come back and never bother him with trouble ever again.

 

**This is all for (Y/N).**

 

Sans reached out and gripped Daniel’s arm tightly. He looked at the terrified, sputtering human dead in the eye, and studied him. A frightened pair of eyes and a broken neck. If Daniel could talk, he would have been begging for his life.

 

It’s a good thing Daniel couldn’t because Sans would not have held back on bashing his teeth in.

 

Sans’s magic flared and he slipped into the shortcut. The Void. The very tears in the reality that Sans could use for purposes like this. For traveling to places he had already visited before. Tonight’s destination in mind is his own room. He’d be going by himself of course.

 

Within seconds of being within the void, Sans sharply turned his skull towards the confused and fearful human.

 

“no one will ever remember you. just me.”  


Sans let go of Daniel’s arm and watched the human’s limp body fall into darkness. It must have been torture to fall deeper into such a dark, cold place and not be able to scream. To be trapped with screaming in the head and crying from the eyes.

 

It must be sad to not be able to comprehend that your own existence is being currently erased away in a matter of seconds.

 

The darkness is sucked away from behind Sans and he finds himself alone in the familiar bedroom he hasn’t slept properly in for days.

 

It’s quiet.

 

Slowly, Sans grabs a towel and leaves to go take a shower. He pulls off his layers, one after another, before climbing into the tiny bathroom. There’s barely any hot water, but all he wants to do is have his bones cleaned. It’s barely thirty seconds of warm water, then it gets cold. Temperature does not bother him, but the feeling of warmth calms him down.

 

Despite that, he stays in the shower for a while. He scrubs away at his bones eventually. It takes a while, but eventually, Sans pulls himself together and turns off the running water. He throws on the hand sewn bathrobe, tying it, and stepping out of the bathroom and right back to his bedroom.

 

“SANS?”

 

Sans busies himself by pulling on a new shirt. He’s already pulling up another pair of shorts and fiddling with the button and zipper. His typical jacket gets thrown on. He’s in the middle of fishing out a pair of socks from his drawer when he notices Papyrus standing at the doorway.

 

“yeah, pap?” Sans asks as he makes his way to the bed and sit down. He doesn’t make any move to put his socks on. That’s just weird. “sorry, did i, uh... wake you?”

 

“SHOWERING AT MIDNIGHT? ARE YOU GOING TO SOME NIGHT JOB YOU FAILED TO INFORM ME ABOUT?” Papyrus asks as he places his hands on his hip bones, giving Sans a stern gaze.

 

“nah, not tonight. i’m gonna go pick up something and come right back for some shut-eye,” Sans shrugs as he checks his alarm clock, noticing that he still had a few hours of being exposed to your soft flesh and wonderful scent.

 

“I SEE…”

 

Before getting excited, Sans gives his brother a quick glance, “wassamatta, paps? do you want me to read you another story before i go?”

 

“NO! I MEAN, YES THAT WOULD BE VERY NICE, BUT THERE IS SOMETHING ELSE THAT CONCERNS ME,” Papyrus hurries over to Sans’ bedroom wall and points at the calendar. There’s a circle that had been messily circled. Courtesy of Sans quick work with a sharpie.

 

“I GOT YOU THIS CALENDAR WHEN WE FIRST MOVED INTO THIS APARTMENT AND NOT ONCE HAVE YOU EVER WRITTEN DOWN ANY IMPORTANT DATES OTHER THAN MY BIRTHDAY AND YOUR OWN. AND ALSO THE OCCASIONAL, AND COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY CALENDAR JOKE.”

 

“heh, yeah i guess doing that is pretty out of date.”

  
“THAT WAS HORRIBLE. NEVER DO THAT AGAIN.”

 

“ok.”

 

“DO NOT DISTRACT ME, BROTHER. EXPLAIN THE POORLY SCRAWLED CIRCLE.”

 

Sans already had a good feeling of what may come next, but he’s already submitted himself to it, “i’m going on a d-- I’m hanging out with a new friend tomorrow. didn’t wanna forget, y’know?”

 

Papyrus froze before nearly screeching in horrid excitement, “A NEW FRIEND? SANS! WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME?”

 

Sans shrugged.

 

“I’LL IRON YOUR NICEST SHIRT,” Papyrus is already raiding Sans’ closet, pulling out one of his nicer t-shirts before spotting something wrong with it, “OR THE ONE THAT ISN’T STAINED WITH KETCHUP.”

 

“you do that, paps.” Sans is already feeling himself grow tired when he spies Papyrus laying down an outfit for the anticipated date hangout.

 

“IT MAKES SENSE AS TO WHY YOU TOOK A SHOWER EARLIER. LOOK AT YOU, GETTING PREPARED. DID YOU HAVE A PLAN OF THE ACTIVITIES TO DO WITH THIS FRIEND?” Papyrus asked as he’s neatly smoothing out the clothes.

 

Sans shrugged. You didn’t actually text him back when to meet up and where.

 

“WHAT? SANS, YOU LAZY BONES, YOU COULD HAVE DONE THAT MUCH!” Papyrus darts out of the room and promptly ran back in with the iron, “I SUPPOSE I WILL HAVE TO COME ALONG AND MEDIATE YOUR FRIENDSHIP TIME.”

 

Immediately Sans opens his mouth to talk Papyrus out of it. Sans knew the second Papyrus had gone to his closet, he wouldn’t be able to bring you to his room for the nightly snuggles. Sans also didn’t know if he could sacrifice the private time he was looking forward to having with you.

 

Then again…

 

It would help Sans out immensely if Papyrus did tag along. Sans knew no matter how hard his human had convinced herself that he wasn’t the stalker he made himself out to be, she still had her doubts. He could smell her sliver of fear underneath that sweet lotion.

 

What better way than to bring along his amazing brother, Papyrus?

 

(Y/N), after a day of being around his brother, would melt away any remaining scraps of doubt she had for him. Her walls will tumble, and she’d be all his.

 

Sans couldn’t help the smile that grew.

 

“sounds great, bro. i’ll tell ya when and where to meet.”

 

“YOU DIDN’T SCHEDULE A MEETING TIME AND LOCATION? GREAT ASGORE, SANS. WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING? DO YOU NEED MY FRIENDSHIP MANUAL?”

 

“i thought it was your dating manual?”

 

“I HAVE MANY. NOW GO GET WHATEVER YOU NEEDED SO WE CAN START DECIDING WHAT COLORED SHIRT YOU NEED TO WEAR. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THAT GREY SWEATER WE GOT YOU WHEN WE FIRST MOVED INTO THE CITY?” Papyrus asked as Sans got up from the bed, tossing his socks to the ground.

 

Slippers it is. Sans stepped into them and headed for the door.

 

“dunno. probably under the bed.”

 

“SANS!”

 

.

.

.

 

The apartment is quiet when Sans returned, a plastic bag clutched in his phalanges.

 

It’s a peaceful quiet, and Sans welcomes it. He checked your phone, and he sees that the message conversation between you and Daniel had disappeared.

 

He set your phone down on the nightstand, plugging it to the charger. The screen lights up, indicating it’s charging before it turned off seconds later. Sans leans over you, hands once again finding them on either side of your pillow.

 

Sans pressed another pseudo kiss against your forehead. The scent he longed for relaxes him, the tension in his bones slowly disappearing. He carefully runs his fingers through your hair, sliding to his knees, and admires you up close.

 

He wants you to wake up and kiss him. Hold him tight. Never let go. He’d hold you back just as tight, and he’d want you to tell him how happy you are with the decision he made.

 

_“What’s the matter, Sans?”_

 

_Sans opened his eyes and found himself in your pretty eyes. It’s such a nice color. He could get lost in them if he wasn’t careful. He couldn’t help but kiss you on the nose, right on that little mole._

 

_“Come on, you bone head. You can tell me. I’m always right here, willing to listen,” You would whisper as your arms slide over his shoulder blade. He immediately wraps his arms around you, clinging to you._

 

_“don’t wanna talk… just wanna hold ya, pumpkin.”_

 

_You let out a small laugh. It’s gorgeous. He loves it._

 

_“I guess that’s okay. We’ll just cuddle until you’re ready to tell me what happened.”_

 

_Not that it would matter. You wouldn’t understand if he had explained it to you. He erased someone’s existence. Something he didn’t think he’d find himself doing. If he even mentioned Daniel’s name, you’d give him a confused look and deny ever knowing someone named Daniel at work._

 

_Of course you wouldn’t remember him. He’s gone. His existence had been swallowed up in the void._

 

_So instead of taking the moment to explain something that only he could believe, he focused on you._

 

_Your warmth. Your love and appreciation. Your kisses to his cheekbone. He’d pull you in closer, and let out a content sigh._

 

_You would lean back, looking him in the eye. He’d look back and then you’d chuckle, before leaning in and kissing him. Your lips are soft, and he’s nearly drooling when your hand sneaks under his shirt and settles on one of his sensitive ribs._

 

_Sans grips your shoulders and shoves you against the mattress, already drowning you in his attention and love. He’s stripped you out of your clothes, running his hands over your body and appreciating and adoring your body._

 

_A kiss here, a nibble there. He trailed his magic tongue from your neck to your chest, his phalanges gripping onto a breast. Sans almost groaned when his bony phalanges sank into your soft flesh._

 

_He aches down there, but he continues to revel in you. The second you’re squirming and gasping at his touch is when he immediately plunges himself into your hot core. You’re hot and tight around him. It’s glorious. He couldn’t help but pump himself into you with long, deep strokes._

 

_Your eyes are filled with love and glazed over with lust, your hair sprawled out underneath. Every time he slams himself to your burning core, you cry out his name._

 

But you’re asleep.

 

You’re there deep into your slumber induced by pills, unable to say a word except for soft snores and the gentle rise and fall of your chest.

 

Eventually, Sans had to ignore the swelling heat in his pants. It hurts. So he leaves a kiss on your head before leaving. It hurts and it feels awkward, but he finds a place of privacy to relieve himself.

 

The plastic bag containing the blank cell phone that once belonged to Daniel gets tossed into the void, along with several used tissues, before Sans returned home. He barely gets any sleep after Papyrus finishes ironing his clothes.

 

.

.

.

 

It’s barely the fourth day of the first week of your suspension from work when you get a call from Mark. You were counting your cash to budget what you’ll have left over after paying your last few bills and rent when your phone starts ringing.

 

You answer it and got a quick hello from Mark, who sounds out of breath.

 

“We’re short on people, (Y/N). Could you come in? I’ll remove the suspension,” Mark says, adding the last bit like an afterthought.

 

You are shocked by what he just said. A rush of irritation and anger fills you for a split second. You wanted to tell him so badly, so incredibly badly, that he could shove the suspension removal up his a** and hang up on him.

 

...then you just had to glance at the twenty you’re left with after setting aside for rent and bills. The fridge is a bit empty as well.

 

You can try to stretch this twenty dollar bill as far as you can, but that’s it. You need to buy more credits on your bus pass and the food pantry doesn’t have a bus route near it for miles. Once the money’s used up and all the food you can scrape together in the fridge and pantry is gone, you’re out. There won’t be a next week’s check to rely on because you have no hours done.

 

Not to mention you need money to buy your medication, and it’s pricey.

 

You need that medicine.

 

“Hello?” Mark’s voice calls out to you and you bite your lower lip, bowing your head as you clench your hand around your phone in defeat.

 

“I...I can come in for a few hours.”

 

“Can you stay until two?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

The call ends and you collect your money, stuffing it into individual worn out envelopes. One’s labeled rent, one’s for debt, a few bills, and you stick the last bill into your wallet to hopefully last you until the next payday. The envelope for medicine and the monthly bus pass is empty.

 

The envelopes get tucked in between the mattress of your bed.

 

You take a shower, eat the soft apple you had on your table, and you’re already heading out the door in your work uniform, taser, and your backpack with an extra change of clothes inside.

 

Clothes to change into for the…hangout.

 

You just remembered you forgot to text Sans about today’s hangout.

 

You take a second to look at your messages. Nothing. Of course, there wouldn’t be anything. You got Sans’ number, but you didn’t actually give him yours. That must have seemed rude, especially after you had promised to text him right after going home the other day.

 

… Did you fall asleep yesterday without sending Sans a text? You weren’t that tired, were you? Everything comes to a blank, no matter how hard you tried to recollect the memories of last night.

 

“Did I really take my pills and went straight to bed?” You mumble to yourself as you lock your door and hurry down the stairs towards the bus stop. You’re honestly surprised with yourself.

 

Leaning against the bus stop sign, you quickly write a message and sent it.

 

You

_Hi, Sans. Sorry for the late txt._

_If you don’t mind, we can meet up at the park around 3 in the afternoon?_

_The same place where your hot dog stand was?_

  


You didn’t have to wait long for his reply, as within several seconds, Sans replied.

 

Skelepun

_3 is ok i have a shift rite now_

_C ya there_

  


The bus comes into view as you’re slipping your phone into your pocket. You pull out your wallet to get your bus pass out. When the bus stops and opens the door, you get on and recognize the bus driver from that night.

 

He seems to recognize you as well, judging by the way he smiles.

 

“You okay, hun?”

 

You wonder if he’s asking about the situation with Sans.

 

“Everything’s okay. Thanks so much,” you said as you slide the bus pass into the fare box. The green check appears.

 

“That’s good,” the way his brow scrunched up doesn’t match the way he said that. The bus driver closes the door behind you, giving you this nod, “if anything did happen or happens, you can always report it to me. I got my walkie here.”

 

He holds up the radio device, giving it a shake.

 

“I really appreciate it, sir. Thanks so much, but Sans already explained he saw someone follow me last night. He was only making sure I was safe, even if he did do it in a frightening way,” you quickly explained.

 

And for some reason, the man didn’t buy it, but all he did was give you a nod.

 

That...made you feel strange. As if he planted a seed of doubt in you. But, no. It’s already been cleared up. Sans had been looking out for you. He helped you.

 

**Stop thinking.**

 

“Alrighty, hun. Take a seat.”

 

You immediately nod and hurry to find a vacant spot to sit down in. The bus starts moving, and you pull out your phone to look over your messages again.

 

Before you realize it, your stop arrives and you get up to step off. Approaching the doors, you catch your bus driver’s eyes.

 

“H-Have a nice day,” you tell him.

 

He nods. “...stay safe, hun.”

 

You’re not sure what to say to that, and holding your nerves together, you get off the bus and go straight to work. The walk to the store is quiet, and it did not comfort you at all the entire time. You found yourself glancing over your shoulders every so often until the store came into view.

 

The entire time you also had your hand in your pocket, where the taser rested.

 

Some familiar faces wave at you the second you step in, and you wave in return before going straight to the break room in the back of the store. You stuff your backpack and wallet inside, locking it and going straight to the management office to clock in at the terminal.

 

When you approached the terminal, Deborah stepped out of the office.

 

“Oh, hey, (Y/N). Thanks for coming in. Do you mind if I talk to you in the office?” Deborah asked and you felt your shoulders slouching even more. “Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble. Just punch in and meet me inside.”

 

“Alright,” you said as you punch in your numbers and tap your index finger on the little reader.

 

When you went inside the office, Deborah sat you down and talked about the suspension and four days of lost hours.

 

“While I can’t really give them to you since you technically didn’t work them, what I can do is use four of your seven days of vacation time and give you holiday pay,” Deborah offered as you blinked and looked up at her.

 

“W-What? Is that okay?”

 

It isn’t. Deborah goes on to explain that Mark didn’t process the suspension papers correctly, so it couldn’t go through. That meant that you had four days of work you ‘missed’ out on, and Mark didn’t bother telling everyone.

 

Which means you could go to HR and demand compensation for this issue. All the managers here do not want that. There are already enough problems piling up, and they don’t need another one.

 

They’re willing to replace your work hours with vacation hours to avoid any conflict.

 

“Mark had good intentions of giving you time off to deal with your situation with your family, a write up is more than enough. A suspension without the other managers’ approval goes against the rules here,” Deborah pauses before adding, “not to mention he forgot to get in touch with Allen to inform him of the action.”

 

...You’ve worked here for two years, and you still don’t understand why this store has so many managers, but they’re not the manager _manager_.

 

What’s important is that you’ll have a check to look forward to next week.

 

(But you’ll still have to make a three hour trip to the food pantry.)

 

“Thank you, Miss Deborah. This really helps me out!” You genuinely say, feeling a few boulders get tossed off your shoulders. Deborah gives you this ‘I know’ face. You’ll have to bake a few treats to thank her later.

 

Deborah waves her pen at you, “what I can’t do is take off your write-up. Having family or friends disturbing our workplace is against the rules.”

 

“No, no! I understand. I already called my mom and told her not to do that anymore,” you say, and you really hoped your mom will listen.

 

“Good. I’ll catch you later and tell you when I finished fixing your ‘vacation hours’. By the way, you should also come by and tell me when you want to take those last three days. Your vacation time doesn’t roll over for the next year,” Deborah says from her paperwork as you get up.

 

You laugh and bid her goodbye, feeling a pep in your step. You’re halfway out the door when Deborah calls out for you again.

 

You immediately stop and glance at her.

 

“Did you happen to see who originally had the shifts for the next four days?” Deborah asked as she reaches into her pocket and checks her phone.

 

“Not really. Why?”

 

“Do you have a picture of the schedule?”

 

You did have it, so you pulled out your phone and checked the Gallery. Deborah takes a moment to look at the schedule and furrows her eyebrows in confusion. She hands it back to you.

 

“Did something happen?” You ask and Deborah takes a second to answer.

 

“There’s a series of shifts that fall under no one’s name. It’s been like that for all of our records. Lord knows how we survived those days when we were low on people.”

 

Before you could say anything, Deborah just sighs.

 

“I’ll just give you those hours. Check later for the updated schedule. Go to work, (Y/N),” Deborah waves you off, and you nod before leaving the office.

 

Out of curiosity, you check your phone to look at the schedule. There’s a row of hours with no name next to them. It’s the same for the other pictures of the schedule that you have. It’s strange, and honestly, you don’t understand why or how no one saw this before.

 

It’s baffling, but you put it behind you as you see a fellow coworker clocking in for the morning rush. You smile and wave, leaving with them to go get a money tray.

 

The morning shift goes on as usual.

 

.

.

.

 

Work ends a little after two, and you go straight to the locker room to get your backpack. You head into the restroom to change into jeans and a sweater. Shoving your uniform into your backpack, you shoulder it on and head out of the restroom to go clock out.

 

Punching out at the terminal, you glance over to the management office, seeing Mark and Deborah talking with each other in a hushed volume.

 

You’re curious, but one glance at your phone’s clock and you’re already hurrying out of the store to get to the bus. You barely managed to remember to snap a picture of the new schedule. When the bus came, you spent the thirty-minute bus ride writing your hours into your phone’s calendar and setting alarms.

 

It feels nice to have work again. You’ve been tired of being at home all day alone with your thoughts.

 

**Stop thinking.**

 

The bus reaches the stop nearest to the park, and you step off, hurrying to the designated area. The park comes into view, with the hot dog stand, and you easily spot Sans standing in front of it, but you spot another staggeringly tall figure next to him.

 

That tall figure is also a skeleton, with jagged teeth and sunken eyes… And the second he spots you, he comes sprinting right at you.

 

“Uh, what’s going on-?”

 

“HELLO HUMAN!”

 

You’re taken aback by how high this skeleton towers over you. Red mittens took your bare hands into a tight two-handed handshake, and he literally shakes the life out of your arms. You gasp, almost letting out a confused yelp, as the overly tall skeleton nearly shakes your entire being.

 

“WHEN SANS MENTIONED HE HAD PLANS MEETING WITH SOMEONE, I WAS INCREDIBLY ECSTATIC TO FIND OUT THAT HE’S MADE A NEW FRIEND AND I SO DESPERATELY WANTED TO MEET YOU.”

 

“that’s not true. you were mad i didn’t have anything planned, so you wanted to tag along and mediate.”

 

“SHUSH, SANS!”

 

“O-oh, haha…” You couldn’t say anything else, and when the skeleton finally let you go, you found yourself holding your head in place as the whole world around you kept spinning and jumping.

 

“eh...heh... my bro came along. hope ya don’t mind,” Sans calls over to you gently as you’re still holding your head in place, literally feeling your eyeballs rolling around still in their eye sockets.

 

Papyrus reaches out, tilting your head up and brushing your hair down neatly. He gives you a small pat on the head before resting his hands on his hips.

 

“I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS, BROTHER OF MY VERY LAZY BROTHER OVER THERE. THOUGH HE FAILED TO INTRODUCE US TO EACH OTHER,” Papyrus leans down, whispering in your ear, though it definitely wasn’t whispering, “I WILL ADMIT ONLY TO YOUR EARS THAT MY BROTHER IS ALSO VERY GREAT.”

 

“aw, pap,” Sans grins as Papyrus whips around, crossing his arms.

 

“SANS, YOU EAVESDROPPER! THAT IS MEANT FOR YOUR FRIEND’S EARS ONLY!”

 

Finally, once you got out of your dizziness, you found yourself watching the brothers interact with each other.

 

Papyrus is definitely loud. Much louder than you’re used to dealing with, and you’re thankful that the park isn’t filled with kids and adults going about their business. They’re probably at school ready to head home.

 

There’s a part of the park where there are few flower beds of pink and purple flowers. The flowers are very sparse, and because of the cold weather and lack of care from the recreational workers, the petals and leaves are falling.

 

You take a seat on the bench,

 

You and Sans watch in silence as Papyrus hurries around the park, taking in the sights of the flowers. It’s fairly empty, but within a few hours, it’ll be filled with children running around and parents on their phones while keeping an eye on them.

 

Until then, the three of you have this part of the park all to yourselves.

 

“IT’S A BIT OF A SHAME THAT THERE AREN’T MANY FLOWERS IN THE CITY,” Papyrus crouches down to pick up the petals that had fallen from the flower bed. Flower picking isn’t really allowed, though there are clear signs of that being ignored.

 

“It would be pretty weird if there were a lot of green in such a silver city,” You hum from the bench. Your shoulder touches Sans’s arm as you scoot forward when Papyrus hurries over to hold out the fallen pink and purple petals. You never noticed Sans tensing up when Papyrus drops them into your waiting hands.

 

You glance at Sans, spotting him looking exhausted. There are bags under his eyes, and you’re honestly surprised that skeletons could develop bags under his eyes.

 

“You had a long night?” You find yourself asking, and Sans doesn’t look at you.

 

“uh, yeah. a really long night,” Sans admits before laughing it off, “paps kept me up all night with telling me about how to properly iron. i didn’t get a _wink_ of sleep.” He even gives you a wink.

 

“UGH, THAT WAS AWFUL,” Papyrus huffs with his hands on his hips. “DO NOT BORE YOUR FRIEND WITH SUCH BAD HUMOR.”

 

“if only i could bore myself to _sleep_.”

 

“WAS THAT A PUN?”

 

Before Sans could even open his mouth, Papyrus grabbed some of the petals and leaves from your hand and tossed it at his brother’s face with a ‘nyeh!’

 

There’s a dried leaf in Sans’s eye socket and the rest had scattered all over his jacket. Sans takes a moment to reach in and gingerly take it out before giving his brother an amused grin.

 

“heh, guess you want me to _leaf_ the jokes alone, huh?”

 

“I’M LEAVING.”

 

By leaving, Papyrus must have meant the both of you as he grabbed your hand and dragged you off the bench. The petals and leaves fall from your hands and flutter all over the ground. You’re speechless, really.

 

So is Sans, apparently. When you glanced back at him, Sans is silent. Eventually, he does get up and follow after you both.

 

“hey, bro, where are ya takin’ her?”

 

“AWAY FROM YOUR BAD PUNS. SHE MAY NOT LIKE YOU AFTER SUCH AWFUL JOKES.”

 

“nah, she loves em.”

 

“SAYS YOU. NYEH!”

 

It’s hard not to laugh at their argument, and Sans could only grin broadly at your grinning face.

 

For the rest of the day, you spent an uneventful day with the skeleton brothers at the shopping center. Despite Papyrus’s loud persona, he’s actually quite sweet. You remember Sans telling you how much he adored his brother, and you can see why.

 

Speaking of Sans, he didn’t really say much. He only cracked a joke here and there to annoy his brother.

 

It wasn’t hard to notice how Sans observed both you and Papyrus from behind. You’re not sure how to feel when you realized that he looked at the both of you with fondness.

 

_As friends?_ You hoped, but that might not be the case.

  
Eventually the bright blue sky turned into a darker shade of cobalt. Sans told Papyrus it was about time to return home. Papyrus didn’t seem very excited to go home. The tall skeleton still had plenty of energy to explore the many shops.

 

Not you. No, your feet hurt.

 

They offered you a ride home, but you turned them down. Papyrus had insisted, but you also insisted that the bus is more than enough. He seemed upset but settled for walking you to the bus stop.

 

That’s fine.

 

So that’s what they did. They walked you to the bus stop, and the entire time Papyrus talked your ear off. He really seemed fond of puzzles and pasta.

 

That’s honestly kind of cute.

 

Papyrus had once again insisted on waiting with you for the bus to arrive.

 

“It’s okay, Papyrus. I’ll be fine. Go home with your brother-”

 

“I WILL GO HOME, ONCE YOU’RE ON THE BUS. ARE YOU NOT AWARE OF THE DANGERS OF BEING OUT ALONE AT NIGHT, HUMAN?”

 

This honestly reminds you of when Sans admits having followed you to the bus stop in fear that some monster racist assaulter had been tailing you.

 

“...Alright. Thanks, Papyrus.”

 

“NYEH HEH! IT’S NOTHING. THE GREAT PAPYRUS WOULD BE UPSET IF ANYTHING HAPPENED TO MY BROTHER’S NEW FRIEND. AND HOPEFULLY, MY FRIEND AS WELL?”

 

You leaned against the bus stop sign. Why not?

 

“Yeah, we are.”

 

“WOWIE REALLY?! I MEAN, OF COURSE!!!”

 

Papyrus nearly vibrated in place from excitement. You caught a big brotherly grin on Sans face. You almost relaxed with a smile of your own when you nearly jumped out of your skin when Papyrus shoved his phone in your face.

 

The bus pulled in once you finished exchanging numbers with Papyrus. You bid each other goodbye and ‘be safe’. You watched the skeleton brothers walk away and you actually find yourself hoping they’ll be safe.

 

.

.

.

 

“WHAT A NICE HUMAN. I’M SO PROUD OF YOU FOR MAKING FRIENDS, SANS. EVEN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS SUCCEEDED IN BECOMING FRIENDS WITH HER,” Papyrus practically glowed as they walked before Papyrus gasped loudly, “OH NO, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO TELL OUR NEW FRIEND THAT WE’RE LEAVING THE CITY IN THE MIDDLE OF NEXT MONTH?”

 

Sans takes a moment, glancing back to see his precious human getting on the bus. His brother brought up a good point.

 

What is he going to do once it’s time to leave?

 

“...i’m working on it, paps.”

 

“WE’LL HAVE TO BREAK THE NEWS TO HER GENTLY, BROTHER. IT WILL BE HEARTBREAKING FOR HER TO LOSE NOT ONE, BUT TWO GOOD FRIENDS! NYOO HOO HOO…”

 

The bus leaves, and Sans takes his brother home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Sans finds the text messages from Daniel on your phone, and in retaliation, Sans decides to take matter into his own hands by luring Daniel in with messages he believes are from you. Sans leads him to an empty alleyway, breaks his neck and throws him into the Void and spends the rest of the night having 'snuggle time' with you. You, unaware of what happens, go to work after the managers realize that many shifts for the rest of the week are covered by no one. After work, you go to the park to meet up with Sans and meet his brother, Papyrus, who had invited himself along with this hangout. It's a strange hangout, but you do enjoy being in the company of others. Papyrus seems to like you a lot, though he brings up a good question to Sans about the future between Sans and you when the day ends. Sans realizes that he'll be leaving the city soon, but he hasn't really figured out how to bring you with him and his brother. Perhaps he'll have to rush his plans faster than he thought...
> 
> RabelleRabbit: That was a lot to edit. It changes things, but I think it'll be for the better. I really do appreciate you readers for giving me better ideas. I adore this part of the fandom.
> 
> So here's some news. I started college a week ago. They're a few online classes, no big deal. They're supposed to end in May. So updates may be sparse. I'm sorry, really, I am, but don't worry, I am quite excited to say that the next chapter will be juicy and big, like a watermelon.
> 
> Here's my Tumblr! 
> 
>  
> 
> [RabelleRabbit](https://rabellerabbit.tumblr.com/)
> 
>  
> 
> Go ahead and follow me. I love to hear from you all. Please leave a comment and a kudos. I can't wait to come back with another chapter! 
> 
> That being said, who wants to see the pictures I drew for this story?


	7. SCENT

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doubts upon doubts. Pill after pill.
> 
> You're slowly realizing how awful of a person you are. Every problem in your life screams out that you are the cause of it. Running away. They scream that you ran away. And you denied it for so long. But you did run away. You're always running away. Why? Why?
> 
> You're approached by the tall skeleton, and before you know it, he's truly become a kind friend you were always hoping to find.
> 
> But for some reason, it hurts you more when you continue doubting his brother.
> 
> Until you can't take it anymore.
> 
> And things fall at the seams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As of 6/13/2019, I take it upon myself to explain that I had to do some editing from Chapter 4 to Chapter 7. If you want to reread, go ahead. I realized that there had been a certain character that made me feel like it had been a little too unrealistic. 
> 
> Erm... also, there had been a terrible blackout from a strong storm, so I had been unable to write for around three or four days. However, I do plan to come out with Chapter 8 very soon. Stay tune, I'm sure it'll be out in a week or two. Thank you very much for your patients. I love you all!
> 
> **WARNING: A hint of sexual content. Again, nothing happens to the Reader. It's just Sans being a dirty sinner.

“back.”

 

Sans leaves his keys into the little bowl they have by the door. Kicking off his worn-out sneakers, he slips into his more comfortable slippers. He checks the clock.

 

Eight thirty, on the dot.

 

Perfect.

 

He has about four hours to get some sleep in before he gets to swing by his human’s place. It felt so long since the last time he’s had her in his arms. It felt so long ago, even if it had only been last night since he got to hold you.

 

“OH HELLO BROTHER. I’VE PREPARED DINNER FOR YOU. COME AND EAT!”

 

As always, Papyrus greets Sans from the kitchen. He sticks his skull out of the kitchen to look at Sans. Papyrus is wearing his best looking cardigan in one of his favorite colors, red. He even wore jeans and a belt.

 

Sans watched Papyrus return to his spot at the kitchen bench, practically circling in front of the cutting board. If he looked to the left, he’ll see the stove with a large pot, bubbling and spewing steam from under the lid. He creeps closer, to try and take the ladle for a sneaky bite, but Papyrus beats him to the punch and quickly smacks his hand away.

 

As Sans pulls his hand away, rubbing it, he glances over to the kitchen table and spots an empty bag of groceries and a receipt with a very familiar store logo at the very top.

 

Sans hid his delight.

 

“went to the store, bro?” Sans asked as he played dumb, already making his way to sit down at the table. He nearly jolts when the chair underneath him squeaks loudly. Stars, that almost scared him.

 

_c’mon, hang in there until we move outta here. don’t wanna buy a new chair until after we get to the new place._

 

“IF YOU HAD BOUGHT THE GARLIC AND GREEN PEPPERS LIKE I HAD ASKED, I WOULD NOT HAVE GONE OUT OF MY WAY TO BUY THEM MYSELF!” Papyrus nags as he reaches out to grab the lid and checks on the stew.

 

“ah come on bro, i was real busy with work.”

 

“POPPYCOCK!”

 

Sans shrugged as Papyrus turned the stove off. Sans There’s a comfortable silence as Papyrus is pouring a large helping into a bowl meant for Sans. A shake of basil onto the top and it’s nearly slammed in front of him. Sans looked at the steaming bowl and perks up when Papyrus slides a spoon into it very gently.

 

“looks great. thanks, bro.”

 

“NYEH HEH, OF COURSE!” Papyrus beams as he snatches the other bowl and gets himself some of the stew.

 

As soon as Papyrus sits down at the table with his own bowl, he sets it down and a somewhat loud bang escapes from the table. Sans glances up as he’s raising his spoon to his mouth.

 

“THAT, REMINDS ME! AS I WENT TO THE STORE. I MET (Y/N)!”

 

Sans couldn’t help but grin a little.

 

It’s been a two week and four days since he last spoke to you in person. The park date hangout hadn’t been as successful as he thought it would be. He’s tried texting you, but the messages are sparse. It almost felt like you would only hold a conversation so you aren’t rude to him.

 

It turns out to have been just his overactive imagination. According to what Papyrus has to say, as well as checking your schedule, you’ve been trying to work as many hours as you could to earn enough money for your bills and medicine.

 

Sans SOUL sang joyously when despite it all, you still messaged him.

 

His human sure is kind. Sans wondered if that meant your SOUL is green.

 

Such kindness. It shouldn’t be taken advantage of like it currently is. But that’ll change soon.

 

He promised.

 

“oh?” Sans raised a bony brow, “she workin’ today’s shift?”

 

Of course, she is. He knew she’d work today. He also knew tomorrow’s her day off. Been a while since she’s had an entire day off.

 

“I BUMPED INTO HER WHILE SHE HAD BEEN CONSUMING HER SCHEDULED LUNCH. I COULDN’T BELIEVE IT, SHE EATS AS MUCH JUNK AS YOU DO. AND I DO NOT MEAN IT AS A COMPLIMENT!”

 

Sans knows. He’s seen the receipts. You’ve been taking advantage of the free burgers from the restaurant surveys. If only Grillby’s was still around, Sans would take his little human there for a date in a heartbeat.

 

“I GREW CONCERNED OVER HER CONSTANT JUNK INTAKE. THIS IS THE THIRD TIME I FOUND HER CONSUMING A GREASY MEAL, SO I HAD A GREAT THOUGHT, AS GREAT AND MASTERFUL AS ANY IDEAS FROM THE GREAT PAPYRUS. WHICH IS ME,” Papyrus points his spoon at himself, “I CAME TO THE ONLY LOGICAL CONCLUSION IS TO INVITE THE NUTRIENT LACKING HUMAN TO DINNER.”

 

Sans almost threw himself across the table to hug his brother. But the desire to do so went away just as it came, as the hoodied skeleton noticed the sag in Papyrus’s shoulders. He knew exactly what happened, but didn’t dare interrupt his brother’s story.

 

“...UNFORTUNATELY, THE HUMAN DECLINED. I INSISTED, BECAUSE I KNEW SHE WOULD REGRET MISSING OUT ON A DELICIOUS, MEATY DINNER MASTERFULLY CRAFTED BY THE GREAT SPAGGETORE, BUT SHE STILL DECLINED.”

 

“she’s prolly just shy an’ all…” Sans tried to cover up, not for his human’s actions, but the disappointment in his tone.

 

“SHE MUST BE MORE THAN SHY IF SHE HAD DECLINED THE TWENTY TIMES I HAD ASKED, BROTHER.”

 

...really, (Y/N)? You’re going to do this to him?

 

“she’s definitely holding back. don’t worry, paps, i’m sure she’ll accept the next time ya ask,” Sans suggested softly as Papyrus stares into his stew, “is somethin’ wrong, bro?”

 

“HOLD ON! I AM FORMULATING A WONDROUS PLAN TO OVERCOME THE HUMAN’S SHYNESS.”

 

“ok.”

 

“ALMOST THERE.”

 

“ok.”

 

Papyrus snatches his bowl and devours the stew within seconds. He takes a good moment to chew and swallow, before staring into the bowl.

 

“STILL THINKING.”

 

Sans shovels a spoonful into his mouth.

 

“yer really stewin’ in your thoughts, huh?”

 

“SANS, INSTEAD OF RUINING MY TRAIL OF THOUGHT WITH PUNS, YOU CAN HELP ME THINK OF A SOLUTION - AND I FORGOT. WELL.”

 

“sorry.”

 

Papyrus gets up to get another helping of dinner, “IT’S QUITE ALRIGHT, SANS. I SUPPOSE OVERTHINKING IT NOW WOULD OVERWHELM THE KIND HUMAN WITH MY GREATNESS. SHE WOULD GET EVEN SHYER, AND WE WOULDN’T WANT THAT.”

 

_You, nervous around him for reasons not related to fear, would be cute_ , Sans admits as he scoops up the last of his dinner and swallows it down. He could see you fiddling with your sleeves and avoiding to meet his gaze.

 

_Adorable_.

 

Sans spent the rest of dinnertime listening to Papyrus until the stew in the pot was gone. As Papyrus went to clean the dishes, Sans excused himself to go take a quick nap. He sets his alarm on his phone and immediately went to get some shut-eye.

 

.

.

.

 

It’s going to be one of those nights.

 

You could tell immediately the second you got out of work and got on that bus.

 

You polished dinner of leftovers, watched a rerun of I Love Lucy, and took care of your night routine.

 

Now you’re lying on your bed, reading a worn out novel of a young ballerina’s career interrupted by WWII. It’s a very nice read, and the descriptions of cakes always left you hungry. You probably had this book since your freshman year of high school and fingering through the yellow stiff pages always brought you back to the memories of your classmate digging through your teacher’s stuff and handing it to you. The name of the high school is printed on the sides of the book, and your thumb brushes over it every time you remember it’s there.

 

Bulbasaur in your arm and tucked under your chin, you flip the page over to continue. You have to reposition your head on the doll to get more comfortable. The poor doll is growing more flatter by the day from the amount of smothering you deal with it.

 

It’s one of those nights.

 

“I need sleep.” The words tumble from your mouth, a soft murmur into the darkness of your apartment. Just days ago it had been cleaned as part of your routine, but now it’s in a complete mess.

 

Also a part of the routine.

 

You run your hand over your head, nearly curling yourself into a fetal position. Bulbasaur is squished between your chest and thighs. You drop the book and hug your beloved doll.

 

It’s been so long since a sleepless night threatens to haunt you.

 

You could remember your college days. The exhaustion in the sags under your eyes, tugging at your eyes to close and fall asleep, but it’s those very thoughts that spin around in your head like a mad carousel, depriving you of rest. The loneliness that came with it -

 

**Your stomach tightens up at even thinking about it.**

 

It feels like a night of good sleep is a luxury now. Something that can be achieved through an expensive pill. The nights were you couldn’t get a wink of sleep seemed like a nightmare from long ago, and the idea of spending nights staring up at the ceiling scared you.

 

It’s not that you’re struggling with trying to save them. You actually ran out and went to go get a new prescription through the doctor as usual. You wanted to get in there and get out and get on with your life.

 

The doctor had other plans. He denied you your usual dosage.

 

The doctor said, “It’s been a while since you started taking them. I think we’re going to have you start taking a lower dosage to get you off of these pills, okay?”

 

You were shaking when the doctor sent you out of the building so you’d pick up your pills at a pharmacy that’s cheaper. There, you made eye contact with the cute guy who worked there. He gave an awkward wave, and you just got your medicine and left.

 

Ugh.

 

You should just get this over with. You reach under your bed, pulling your backpack out and reached in, pulling out the paper bag that had your new pills. The amber bottle came out and you’re staring at them with such intensity.

 

‘ _I hate myself so much for relying so much on those pills, but I really...do need them._ ’

 

Take a breath.

 

In.

 

Out.

 

Take another breath.

 

In……

 

Out……….

 

You’re terrified.

 

It’s not that you weren’t aware that this was going to happen. No, the doctor had made sure you understood the dangers of taking these prescription sleeping pills. You had done your own research, too, and asked for the safest brand.

 

The plan had been simple: just take the pills for a while and once you’re used to them, you’d wean yourself off.

 

And you got used to a full night’s sleep. It didn’t solve all your problems, but it helped. A lot. And now you’re facing a possibility that those _horrible sleepless nights could come back?_

 

Your past self was so prepared to fight the rest of this battle, but your present self is utterly terrified.

 

You were so tempted to beg the doctor to let you continue taking them.

 

**But does this mean that wanting to take these pills forever mean that there really is something wrong with you?**

 

_Take the pills. Take the pills. Take the pills. Take the pills. Take the pills. Take the pills. Take the pills._

 

_JUST STOP THINKING._

 

You turn off the TV, you put away your book, and go get a glass of water. The lights are off and you have a glass of water with you in bed. The pill is taken, and you’re chugging down half the glass. You left the glass on the nightstand.

 

Your head hits the pillow, and you wait for sleep to take you. Your eyes flutter closed eventually, failing to catch the dark figure that appeared in the middle of your room.

 

.

.

.

 

Morning comes sooner than you would have liked. A weak dosage offered you a few seconds of darkness. You yawn as you sit up and move your legs over the edge of the bed. It’s gotten so cold lately. The sheets feel unusually cool.

 

“Mmmmgh…” You grumble sleepily as you rub at your eyes, trying to wake yourself up. Your throat is so dry...

 

You automatically reach for the half-empty glass of water, and for a second you felt just air.

 

Skeleton fingers faintly touch the edge of your sleeping shirt, and suddenly you’re hit with a dizzy wave. You almost retch, leaning onto the bed with your hand as your other hand is covering your mouth.

 

Low dosage, but terrible side effects? You’re not looking forward to this. Maybe you should go back to the doctor’s and tell him what had just happened.

 

“I feel sick…”

 

You stay still until the dizziness went away. You sigh and slowly reach out towards the nightstand with your glass of water.

 

Unlike earlier, you felt the cool glass at your fingertips.

 

.

.

.

 

So close.

 

So close. So close.

 

So close. So close. So close.

 

Soclosesoclosesoclosesoclose-!

 

Sans sat on his bed, slowly panicking. You just woke up all of a sudden. He had an hour left. Just one more, and you would have woken up like normal. Why did you break the usual pattern?

 

You were so close to realizing that you weren’t in your room, but instead, Sans room.

 

All you had to do was not find what you were looking for. To instantly rid of the sleepiness and examine the room around you. To find yourself in his bed, with him staring at you in fear.

 

“Aah….aaaaah…” Sans pants as he’s slowly scratching at his eye socket, tugging at it. Calm down. You didn’t see anything. Hopefully. Maybe.

 

Stop thinking.

 

You didn’t notice, right?

 

Ri...ght?

 

He felt so tempted to go check on you, but that would scare you even worse in case you did realize you had been in a different room that morning. Maybe he could check on you from the outside. The window beside your front door had ill-fitted curtains so there would be a decent crevice to look through.

 

Are you scared? Afraid? Fearful? Or, and he hopefully wished so, that you’re just getting on with your usual morning routine.

 

By the stars, he really hoped you were just getting your morning routine out of the way.

 

So he went to go check on you. He warps himself right outside of your front door, and so very carefully to not set off any creaks of the old veranda, he looks into the apartment from your window.

 

And he felt so relieved. You’re just getting ready to vacuum your studio apartment. You’re fumbling with the cords and Sans immediately warps himself back to his room to avoid any more accidents.

 

He’s so...so relieved.

 

He can still enjoy his time with you until he’s forced to do something drastic. He can still enjoy your softness in such a relaxed state. He can still do this.

 

Sans crawls into his bed and sniffs the covers. Your gentle scent is glorious. He wants to stay there and take it all in.

 

“(Y/N).... (Y/N)...”

 

Just a little bit more longer. He promises. Just a bit more, and he’ll stop being a creep like this. He’ll face you properly.

 

Just, let him indulge like this a bit longer.

 

As Sans moans into his sheets, reveling in the smell of his human, he failed to hear Papyrus leaving the apartment so early in the morning. The door closes and Sans is already wiggling his shorts down, getting his pillow ready while his phone is pulled out for one of the photos.

 

One of the best photos, where it’s just you wearing a sundress. A certain menace used to stand next to you, but he’s gone.

 

Sans couldn’t help but laugh as he’s spiraling down into pleasure.

 

.

.

.

 

Chores are done earlier than you usually bother to do them. You’re wrapping the cord around the hooks on the vacuum. You returned it to the closet and went to the kitchen to start scrubbing away at the dishes.

 

There’s a comfortable silence as you’re taking care of cleaning up around the apartment. It’s so easy to let things pile up, but there’s so much effort that goes into fixing it up.

 

The sun shines alongside the bright blue sky when you’re finally done. You’re marveling in your handiwork. It makes you feel a little bit better.

 

_Just work on what you can._

 

The fridge is still quite empty, and you’re sort of dreading the idea of traveling around two or three hours to the nearest food bank.

 

But you’re up early, so you’ll be back by the afternoon at least if you head out now.

 

You gather your things and spent a bit of time on your phone to memorize the directions to get there. Throwing on a baggy sweater and sweats, you head out the door.

 

.

.

.

 

You will admit.

 

You got on the wrong bus, more than once. But the thing that matters most is that you managed to find your way to the place.

 

Then you got lost again while taking the bus back home.

 

You returned around two in the afternoon, struggling to bring in the heavy box of food. You heave and huff, staggering towards the table and setting it down. The table croaks under the weight.

 

A lot of the food is expired by a day or so, but it isn’t moldy as far as you could tell. So it’s fine, you think. The bread goes into the fridge to try and make it last. The milk is expired too, and you’re not going to take the risk, so it goes down the drain.

 

Cans of beans and corn, some bruised veggies, spaghetti noodles, peanut butter, granola bars… You have a good amount of food, and you’re excited at the prospect of no longer having to run down to the corner store for cup noodles for dinner again.

 

You put everything away properly, even taking the time to rip up the box to flatten it and shove it behind your garbage can.

 

It’s only in the middle of preparing your lunch that you realize you don’t have any pasta sauce to make spaghetti with. You’re checking if you could make anything else, but it’s either toast or sauted vegetables for your next few meals.

 

You do remember that some stuff would be on sale at La Market this week. Tomatoes, garlic, maybe some chicken, and definitely some pineapple soda.

 

.

.

.

 

“(Y/N), nooo, help out with the lines. It’s insane!”

 

The new coworker of two weeks, Jason, reaches out for you, but it’s no use. You’re already over way too many hours and you want to enjoy the rest of the week off.

 

“Stop talking and move those hands,” you say as you’re checking your things in the bag, offering no mercy to your coworkers stuck with work. Maybe they shouldn’t have bailed out on work to leave you cleaning up after their mess.

 

“You’re brutal.”

 

You pull out the bottle of pineapple soda, grinning at him. You twist the cap off and begin walking away, “next time think twice about calling in.”

 

“Boo! Go away already!”

 

You stifle a laugh when one of the other cashiers stuck her tongue out at you. You make your way out of the store, taking a sip from your soda.

 

“HUMAN!”

 

You nearly choked at the loud voice calling out to you. You turn around to see Papyrus sitting on the bench with a bag on his lap.

 

What is he…?

 

“P-Papyrus? What are you doing here? Grocery shopping?” You sputter, reaching up to wipe some of the soda that spilled onto your chin.

 

“WAITING FOR YOU OF COURSE! I DIDN’T KNOW WHEN YOU WORKED TODAY, SO I THOUGHT I’D WAIT HERE UNTIL YOU DID SHOW UP.”

 

“But...why?” You ask as you make your way over to him, sitting down next to him. “Papyrus, I don’t work today. You could have messaged me?”

 

Papyrus pauses, before beaming at you with all that crooked teeth, “IT SEEMS I DIDN’T HAVE MY HEAD ON RIGHT TODAY, NYEH HEHEHEHEHE. I DIDN’T THINK OF THAT. BUT THAT’S OKAY! BECAUSE YOU SHOWED UP IN THE END.”

 

“That’s a very positive way to think, but I hope you weren’t planning to wait all night here. You know it’s dangerous.”

 

“OF COURSE. I WOULD HAVE WAITED INSIDE IF IT HAD GOTTEN DARK.”  


“No, go home-,” You caught yourself. You didn’t mean to sound so rude, you just… You take a breath and reached out to touch his bony arm, “I mean, I don’t want anything happening to you because of those monster haters. It would mean a lot to me if you kept your safety in mind.”

 

“I, I understand,” Papyrus says softly, and you’re almost surprised he could lower his voice that much. But you jump in your seat when he almost slaps a huge tupperware box into your lap, “BUT I REALLY WANTED TO BRING YOU MY SUCCESSFUL FIRST ATTEMPT AT DAIRY PASTA. THE ONE WE TALKED ABOUT THE OTHER DAY.”

 

“You did?” You asked. Papyrus had been surprised at the idea that pasta could be ‘dairy-based’ instead of tomato-based. Don’t even get you started on how confused he had been when you told him of pesto pasta. He had been so shocked that pasta sauce came in more than one color and flavor.

 

Papyrus looked at you intensely, and you were unsure of what he’s waiting for until you realized he wanted you to look inside.

 

Slowly, you peeled the top off and stared at the alfredo pasta. A huge pool of it. It looks pretty alright. If this is his first attempt, it’s a good attempt. You tell him that.

  
“NYEH HEH! AS EXPECTED OF THE GREAT SPAGGETORE!”

 

You’re thanking him and move to close the pasta up, but he sharply stabs a fork into the bed of noodles. You almost jolt again from how sudden his movement is. You look up at Papyrus as he nods to you.

 

“TRY IT. I MADE A HEALTHY MEAL FOR YOU TO HAVE INSTEAD OF THOSE GREASY BURGERS YOU ALWAYS EAT.”

 

That’s actually… very kind of him. It’s been so long since someone cared about what you ate. No one seems to care here if you ate greasy fast food for every meal.

 

You take the fork and twist it in the lake of noodles. Shoving it into your mouth, you chew.

 

It’s cold. The alfredo pasta coagulated against the fettuccini noodles. It’s very garlicky and a strong taste of parmesan. Your breath is definitely going to reek of it for the rest of the day. Maybe the rest of the week. If the pasta had been hot, it would be paired decently with some toast.

 

It tastes good.

  
“Thanks, Papyrus. I’m really happy.”

 

Papyrus seems incredibly pleased, watching you take another bite. You offered him most of it, wondering if he had brought himself anything to eat. He seemed incredibly grateful that you wanted to share. The big portion is conquered rather easily, and you’re washing down the cold pasta with your soda. You find Papyrus staring.

 

“...do you want a taste?” You offer to Papyrus, but he turns you down.

 

“I AM AFRAID I WILL HAVE TO TURN DOWN YOUR KIND OFFER. SANS DOES NOT LIKE IT WHEN I DRINK THIS SUGARY, FIZZY BEVERAGE,” Papyrus leans down to whisper in a not-so-hushed tone, “HE SAYS I ACT LIKE A TROUBLE MAKING RAPSCALLION WHEN I DRINK IT. THE NERVE OF HIM!”

 

“He called you a ...rapscallion?”

 

“OH, STARS NO! THOSE ARE MY WORDS. HE SAID HE WAS GOING TO BAN COFFEE AND SODA FROM OUR APARTMENT TO PREVENT MY DEVILISH BEHAVIOR FROM UNLEASHING. EVER. AGAIN.”

 

If he’s this energetic without sugary drinks, you’re wondering how much of a dynamite he’d be if he did accept your offer. You twist the cap back on, quickly shoving it back into your bags. You don’t really want to find out.

 

You and Papyrus chat for a bit. He talks about how he’s been taking an interest in making his own pasta noodles and had been looking into investing in one of those little pasta maker gizmos. He went on a tangent about how Sans found a very inexpensive one at the supercenter, but it broke on the very first use.

 

“I HAD BEEN VERY CAREFUL WITH IT, TOO! NYOH HO HO….”

 

You pat Papyrus’s back, trying to comfort the crestfallen skeleton.

 

Soon the conversation moves to puzzles, and Papyrus talks to you in great details about the crossword puzzles and word searches that he and his brother do in the morning. Though Sans seems to always be so tired, he never fails to knock out several pages before Papyrus.

 

“HOW DOES HE DO THAT? AND HE DOES IT IN PEN. PEN! HE’S BEING QUITE CHEEKY, I TELL YOU,” Papyrus huffs as he’s in deep concentration, “HE DOESN’T MAKE A SINGLE MISTAKE. I FEEL LIKE HE DOES IT ON PURPOSE. IT’S WORSE WHEN HE DOES SUDOKU WITH IT.”

 

“Ah…” You nod along to the conversation. It’s not that you aren’t listening, it’s just that every time Papyrus mentions Sans’ name, you feel … weird.

 

And you’re frustrated about it. You just wish you could go up to him and ask, “hey numbskull, are you lying to me about following me that one time?”

 

You really want to toss yourself down a flight of stairs. How many times are you going to second guess yourself about him? He’s proven himself again and again to you that though he has a habit of making himself seem like a creep, he never meant to scare you.

 

You can’t slap Sans with a stalker label after all he’s done to help you.

 

That bus driver makes you second guess yourself. And you hate that you let him plant a seed of doubt in your heart. It’s been driving you mad, where you, unfortunately, compared Papyrus’s behavior and actions with Sans’.

 

Papyrus has been following you around and showing up at your workplace constantly. Heck, he literally waited in front of the store for who knows how long for you to show up so you could eat his pasta dish.

 

That’s borderline stalking by broad definition. But why does it feel like Papyrus isn’t a stalker? He’s your friend. So is Sans, in a way. They both followed you, but why is it that Papyrus doesn’t make you doubt yourself about him?

 

Is it … is it because Papyrus seems to not hide anything from you as you talk? That he says and shows how he feels as if wearing his SOUL on his sleeve?

 

What’s the difference? What’s the problem? What are you missing? Why is this so hard?

 

“Papyrus?”

 

“NYEH?” Papyrus clacks his jaw in immediate response, looking to give you his entire attention.

 

You really hope you don’t regret asking him. You just want to hear from someone you can trust. Brothers or not, you know Papyrus is incapable of lying.

  
With this, you hope you can lay the anxious disinclination to rest.

 

“Do...do you think your brother...might be...following me around?”

 

Papyrus’s response is immediate.

 

“OH PERISH THE THOUGHT MY TINY HUMAN FRIEND AND COMPANION! MY BROTHER IS FAR TOO LAZY TO FOLLOW A PIECE OF GARBAGE ON THE GROUND. THOUGH IT WOULD BE LAWFULLY CORRECT TO PICK IT UP AND DISPOSE OF IT PROPERLY, MY BROTHER IS FAR TOO INDOLENT TO EVEN ATTEMPT TO PICK IT UP.”

 

You don’t feel any better as Papyrus pats your head affectionately. Though you’re momentarily distracted by the fact that he basically compared you to garbage.

 

“OH YOU SILLY, SILLY (Y/N).”

 

… you did not feel any better. But with this, it’s over. These fears that bother you, you can start to ignore ...them, as terrible as it sounds. You take a breath, and you feel a bit better, but it’s wavering confidence. The confidence you have at the workplace from the rules on your side against rude customers, you have the same confidence for Sans with Papyrus on your side.

 

“I SUPPOSE HE HAS BEEN ACTING ODD AS OF LATE. YOU SEE, HE’S BEEN PICKING UP MORE JOBS LATELY,” Papyrus explains as you blink.

 

Jobs?

 

“I HAVE BEEN HOPING TO BREAK THE UNFORTUNATE NEWS TO YOU, MY HUMAN FRIEND, BUT MY BROTHER AND I PLAN TO MOVE IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS MONTH. WE’RE SCRAPING TOGETHER AS MUCH MONEY AS WE CAN POSSIBLY MAKE,” Papyrus continues to pat your head, “I HAD QUITE MANY OF MY JOBS TO FOCUS ON PACKING UP AND GETTING THE PAPERS DONE FOR OUR NEW HOME DONE. SANS WOULD HAVE NO TIME TO BE FOLLOWING SOMEONE AROUND. NOT ONLY THAT, HE IS FAR TOO LAZY.”

 

…..

 

…….

 

………..

 

“I ...see… sorry…” You softly say as your heart is beating rapidly. You feel your face grow hot. Were you being ridiculous? What were you thinking, saying such a thing to Papyrus about his brother?

 

WHy can’t YoU JusST SHUT YOUR MOUTH

 

These worries didn’t matter in the end, because they were leaving the city in a matter of weeks. You’ll more than likely never see them again.

 

And…

 

You don’t feel good about that either, for some reason. Or perhaps it’s the fact that you’ve grown quite close to Papyrus that you’d hate to see him go.

 

“I’m really, really sorry…”

 

“DO NOT BE IN DISTRESSED, MY TINY FRIEND. IF YOU WERE CONCERNED ABOUT SOMETHING, THEN IT’S ONLY RIGHT TO VOICE IT. I AM VERY HAPPY YOU TRUST ME ENOUGH TO ASK ABOUT MY BROTHER. EVEN IF HE’S VERY LAZY AND BAMBOOZLES ME UP THE WALL, I KNOW HIM MORE THAN ANYONE IN THIS ENTIRE WORLD,” Papyrus proudly announces as he strikes a heroic pose, “IT IS BEST TO CLEAR UP A MISUNDERSTANDING SO THAT WE CAN ALL LEAVE ON A GOOD NOTE.”

 

“Y...yeah. Yeah, you’re right. Thank you, Papyrus. I’ll, have to apologize to Sans.”

 

You were being ridiculous.

 

Of course, you were. You keep jumping to conclusions and refuse to take to heart what others had to say. How many friendships did you destroy because you didn’t want to clear up any misunderstandings?

 

Papyrus eventually goes back home before it gets dark, and you’re walking to the bus stop. The same bus stop where you saw the figure in the dark. Watching you.

 

It gets dark, and the bus is coming in ten minutes. You reluctantly glance to the streetlights, wondering if the figure is there. Just like that night.

 

But there’s no figure.

 

You take a deep breath. Of course. He really chose a terrible way to keep an eye on you that night. Yeah.

 

Yeah…

 

You take a breath, trying to stop the river of thoughts haunting you. Too many doubts in Sans and yourself. You regret so many things. You regret regretting those things. You’re practically drowning in self-doubt and -

 

You want to cry.

 

You want to stop thinking.

  
You must be crazy. You are crazy.

 

**Just. STOP. Stop thinking. STop.**

 

The bus rolls to a stop in front of you, and when you open your eyes, the door’s open.

 

The bus driver, the one who picked you up that night, is staring at you. You stare back. You’re shaking, and you really want to run away, but you don’t. You’re so tired.

 

Tired of everything. Tired of yourself.

 

“....getting on?” The driver asks, and you will yourself to step on. Your bus pass is tapped against its usual spot, and you go take a seat.

 

There are others on the bus, and they don’t take notice of you. You sit down and stare out the window. The familiar sights calm your racing heart and thoughts. People get on. People get off. Eventually, you’re at your stop. The bus is empty. You’re getting up and making your way to get off when the driver curses under his breath and puts the bus in park. He gets up from his seat and calls to you,

 

“Hun!”

 

You stop, but you don’t look back at him.

 

“I think we need to talk.”

 

.

.

.

 

“SANS, I AM HOME.”

 

Papyrus hums a broken tune as he places his bag onto the kitchen bench, pulling out his dirty Tupperware and fork. He immediately goes to wash them in the sink as Sans comes out from his room.

 

“...paps. why’re you out at a time like this? y’know the city ain’t so nice at night.”

 

“I MADE SURE TO LEAVE BEFORE IT GOT TOO DARK. (Y/N) IS VERY ADAMANT THAT I GET HOME SAFE.”

 

His bro went to go see you?

 

As much as Sans wanted to let it go, since you were involved, he just really wanted to make sure his brother is safe. Fears of something happening before it’s time to leave the city is always on Sans’s mind.

 

“just... just get home an hour earlier. i just wanna make sure you’re safe.”

 

“I KNOW, BROTHER.”

 

It seems to be the end of the conversation. The running water. The scrubbing sponge. Papyrus humming. Sans sighs and turns to go back to his room when Papyrus calls out to him.

 

“OH, BEFORE I FORGET. SANS, ARE YOU FOLLOWING (Y/N) AROUND?”

 

Sans panicked. Sans felt himself shake. He -

 

Who -

 

WHy -

 

WHY WOULD HE ASK SUCH A THING?

 

Sans steadied himself as he turned to his brother, bracing himself to reply in his usual lazy tone, “no? ‘m not followin’ her or anythin’, paps. workin’ too much.”

 

Yeah, that sounds really good. It’s not like it isn’t true. Sans is sacrificing sleep just to be with you.

 

“i really wanna hang out with her, but we need the money. gotta be honest, i’m actually jealous you get to be with her.”

 

It’s true. Sans dearly wished he could be sitting next to you in broad daylight.

 

It becomes silent. The ticking from the clock, the dripping water from the sink, and the loud engines of cars rushing by the apartment is the only thing that fills the air with sound.

 

Papyrus beams at his brother, and Sans calms down.

 

“OF COURSE. I KNEW IT. IF YOU TRULY WERE, THEN I WOULD HAVE NOTICED YOU NEAR HER. NYEH HEH, SILLY, SILLY (Y/N). SEE, I TOLD HER YOU WERE INCAPABLE OF DOING SUCH A THING.”

 

Papyrus chuckles to himself as he dries the Tupperware box and puts it away. Everything seems normal again. And Sans is trying to figure out if you had asked Papyrus such a question. Why? Why would you ask him something like that?

 

Sans thought he erased that much doubt from your mind.

 

“...d...did (Y/N) ask you something weird?” Sans asked as Papyrus goes through the fridge to start planning dinner. Something quick. Something filling. Spaghetti.

 

“SHE DID. BUT IT WAS MORE OF A SMALL DOUBT THAT SHE WAS AFRAID TO SHARE WITH ME, HER BEST FRIEND OF SEVERAL WEEKS. BUT I HELPED AIDE HER WORRIES, BECAUSE I AM THAT GREAT OF A FRIEND,” Papyrus clatters with laughter, pulling out several vegetables to toss into the pan, “SHE SAID SHE PLANS TO APOLOGIZE TO YOU.”

 

Sans finally relaxes.

 

Is it over? Yeah, it’s finally over. Thank the stars it’s finally over. If he had a heart, it would certainly have given out by now.

 

“i’m glad. welp,” Sans makes his way to his room again, “i need to go catch some zzz's. got an early shift tomorrow. night, paps-.”

 

“I TOO AM GLAD THAT THE MISUNDERSTANDING HAS BEEN CLEARED.” Papyrus drops the chopped onions into a frying pan, dropping a bit of butter into it.

 

“...yeah?” Sans said as he’s gripping onto the doorknob of his room. Papyrus is humming, frying vegetables for his spaghetti sauce. Papyrus makes quick movements, adding several shakes of herbs and some salt. Sans sticks around, watching his brother scrape every crumb into the red sauce and heats it up, stirring away.

 

Slowly, Sans opens the door to his room, and he could see his bed right there. He’s growing excited, and just before he could step in, his SOUL nearly screamed.

 

“THOUGH, IF I COULD CONFESS, YOU DO SMELL LIKE (Y/N) EVERY MORNING.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting to the juicy parts.
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr! I might not seem to be active on there, but I actually am. I just like to read everyone's headcanons on the Undertale characters.
> 
>  
> 
> [RabelleRabbit](https://rabellerabbit.tumblr.com/)
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you so much for reading. Leave a kudos and a comment. I love hearing what you have to say.


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